Listen to the Bananas
by Mandy1229
Summary: Dick steals Mac's banana and hilarity ensues. In the college timeline while Logan and Veronica are still dating. CHAPTER FOUR CORRECTED
1. Chapter 1

**Listen to the Bananas**

Chapter One

Mac sat her banana down on the coffee table, threw away the toothpick and waited to see if her little brother was correct. He had been doing a simple science experiement for a fair at school that she had not been aware would work. He had asked her to sit and watch his presentation yesterday and Mac couldn't have been prouder than if it had been her own work.

So when Logan had called this morning, asking if she could stop over and help him with a plan for Veronica; Mac had grabbed a banana and her smoothie and left the student union.

She had brought along her banana to eat but finding the toothpicks on the counter had been fortuitous. So she had written a something as funny as she could think of on it and was waiting for both the words to show up and Logan to exit from his bedroom.

Grabbing her laptop and heading to the balcony when she heard the shower start, she left the banana on the table and picking up her bottle of water went to work out in the sunshine.

* * *

Dick was still a bit hung over as he entered the suite, hearing the shower running and knowing that Logan could take forever, he sat down on the sofa to wait him out. Starting his gaming system, he began to play World of Warcraft wanting to get some practice in.

He had been beaten two days earlier rather ignominiously by Mac and that just couldn't stand. He couldn't let a girl knock him off the leader board on his own damn game. Let alone a girl that did to him what Mac did. 

Hearing his phone ringing, he looked at it and saw that it wasn't the phone but the alarm. Opening it up, he saw the reminder that he had a meeting at the frat house, so shutting down the game, he went to Logan's bathroom, shoved open the door really really hoping Veronica wasn't here and called out. "Don't forget man, we have to meet tonight at Casey's boat."

With that, he left before he could hear Logan's response, went to the small kitchenette grabbed a Gatorade and looked over the fruit selection. Not finding anything he particularly wanted, he was grabbing the apple when he saw the banana on the coffee table.

Trading the apple for the banana, he heard his phone beeping again to remind him of the meeting, he muttered "Okay, okay."

In the car on his way to his frat meeting, he didn't have time to eat the banana but after parking in the driveway of the frat, went inside and settled in just as the meeting was to begin. Looking around, he saw that at least he had dressed; most of his frat brothers were still in their pajamas or boxers.

Drinking some of his Gatorade as they discussed the upcoming kegger and how the new sudden enforcement of the rules was affecting their party plans, he soon grew bored and went to rip open his banana.

Looking down, he was about to do so when he shook his head sure that he was losing his mind. "What the fuck?"

"Dick, do you have a problem with that?" Chip asked from his spot near the stairs.

Looking up, he said "What were we talking about again?"

"The new policy regarding the recycling of liquor bottles so that we don't get kicked off campus for underage drinking." He replied. 

"Why would I care about that, shouldn't you be telling the cleaning crew." He said then looking down at his banana saw that he wasn't insane there were words on it.

Turning to Charleston who was sitting next to him, he leaned over and whispered "What does this banana say?"

"That you are crazy as shit, now shut up." Charleston said glaring at the blond who didn't seem to realize he was hung over as crap and wanted to go back to bed.

Dick looked down and saw the words don't use your teeth and blinked a bit then looked at Tripp on his other side and started to ask him what he saw but the junior was looking at him like he was nuts when he held the banana up.

Opening the banana, saving the skin, he broke it off in pieces and ate it that way, not because he was obeying the fruit but because he always ate it that way. At least that was what he tried to convince himself, his eyes on the words on the skin.

The meeting over, Chip saw him eating the damn yellow fruit and came over "What is up with you today?"

Reaching for the rind, he didn't find it so looking down, he saw that it wasn't there. "Where did my banana go?"

"I threw it out." Tripp snapped as he walked back from the door then watched as Dick flipped out and rushed to the small trash canister near it and began to dig through the trash. "Why are you acting like a five year old on crack?"

Lifting his head, Dick said "Dude, that isn't even cool, five year olds shouldn't be taking crack."

"Twenty year old Pi Sigs shouldn't be digging through the trash for empty banana rinds, Dick." Chip said then leaving the frat house, shook his head at the even stranger than normal behavior.

* * *

Mac returned to the living room an hour later to grab her banana hoping to see if there were words on her banana. "Okay, how did my banana turn into an apple."

Logan who had followed her in after they had made the reservations for his romantic weekend for Veronica said "Dick."

"Casablancas?" Mac asked like there was any other Dick who would steal her fruit.

"He probably grabbed it when he came into my bathroom to remind me about Casey's boat trip tonight." Logan said and hearing Mac groan said "What?"

"I wish you hadn't reminded me. I had it all planned. Its on the wrong day on my phone, I was going to use that as an excuse to skip the party but now Veronica won't believe me."

"What's wrong with going on the boat ride?" Logan asked. "I mean, it is only going to be the four of us, Casey, Lizzie Manning and of course Dick."

"Why was I invited?" She asked.

Logan knew that Casey had invited Mac to ensure that Veronica and Lizzie came. He didn't get why Casey was so determined for Veronica to be there but they were sailing on his boat to one of the smaller islands near Catalina. "Don't know, just that Casey invited you."

"Great, I guess I had better go change my shoes." She said lifting her feet to show off her sandals. "Go, have your lunch with Veronica but do me a favor, tell your fruit stealing roommate that I will get my banana back."

"You do remember who my roommate is, don't you?" He asked with a smirk on his face. "Do you really want me to make a fuss about a fruit that particular shape around him?"

Groaning Mac smiled back at Logan and said "No. Just tell him to ask first next time."

That night, Mac soon found out that Lizzie and Casey were dating and that she had been the one to push him to invited both Veronica and her onto what otherwise would have been a boys trip. "Why me?"

"I knew Veronica was dating Logan and well, we always got along in school, you and I." Lizzie said as she led the way to the galley. "Casey wants to spread his grandmother's ashes over board like she asked him to. Its supposed to happen at dusk and I wanted to be there for him but I really didn't want to be without someone who could handle the boat if Casey gets drunk and morose afterwards."

"So that it's explains Logan and Dick." Mac said getting it.

"And I wanted to talk to Wallace too." Lizzie said then looking at her said "Did you know that Wallace's mom works for Gant Publishing now. She is head of HR and I am working for her part time after school."

"Oh, no, I didn't." Mac said as they heard Dick arriving and to her surprise, Logan and he agreed to stay sober for this.

Out to sea, Mac was standing at the bow, listening to Logan asked Veronica if she wanted to reenact the scene from Titantic. When Veronica went to kiss him, Mac protested and said "No way because otherwise we might end up enacting the later scene, you know the one where the boat sank."

Lizzie and Casey walked over and he was carrying his mom's ashes. Wallace had joined them when Dick called out "I dropped the anchor."

Fifteen minutes later, Casey placed the now empty urn on the bench next to him and sat there, staring off into space. Logan and Dick went to get them back under way knowing their friend was going to need a few minutes to deal with his emotions.

Watching as Veronica sat down next to Casey and spoke to him, she joined Lizzie who was moving down the deck to the galley. When she grabbed a bottle of cheap rye, Mac said "Really, on Casey's boat?"

"It is what his grandmother drank. Something about memories of his grandfather. He is going to drink down the last of it." Lizzie said grabbing a glass and going to rejoin Casey.

Mac wandered the boat, though she would guess it would be called a yacht when it was this big. Arriving at the staircase to the wheelhouse, she joined Logan and said "Looks like you lost Dick."

"Nah, he went to make sure that the outer lights were working on the starboard side. We couldn't tell." Logan said as he guided the boat towards Neptune.

"You are pretty good at that." Mac said talking about his skill for sailing.

With a bitter twist, Logan said "The one thing I learned from Aaron. His dad was a fisherman, he insisted on teaching me. Its about the only time he wasn't a jackass."

"Hey Ghostworld, come to learn from the masters?" Dick said with a bit of a leer as he rejoined them. Mac took in the blond wearing the boat shoes with a pair of surf shorts and obscene t-shirt and wondered why she was so aware of him physically. 

"Dick, that reminds me. Don't steal Mac's fruit." Logan warned and then closed his eyes when he saw the gleeful expression and realized that somehow Dick was going to make a dirty joke about what he said.

Mac hastily added "I left my banana on the coffee table while out on the balcony today. When I came back it was an apple."

"Wait, you were on the balcony, at the suite?" Dick asked surprised. "I didn't see you."

"Why am I not surprised?" Mac said then repeated "That was my banana."

"Oh." Dick said and went quiet for a moment then asked "Was the message from that lab rat boyfriend of yours. Were you supposed to use the banana to practice? Because dudette, he is right, you really shouldn't be using something so sharp on anything that delicate. I mean, if you want to practice on a real live subject, I am-."

"Don't finish that statement Dick." Mac said her voice sounding rather menacing to the blond and Logan looked between them completely confused as to why Mac looked like she was getting ready to shove Dick overboard.

"Available, any time Mackie. Trust me, you can use me as a-." Dick suddenly let out a rather girlie ouch as Mac punched him in his gut. And Mac stormed away. "Hey she hit me. Why did she hit me?""

"Where do you want me to start, Dick?" Logan asked shaking his head. "I guess you didn't know, Bronson broke up with Mac."

"Whose Bronson? What happened to the lab rat?" Dick asked.

"He is the lab rat." Logan said shaking his head at Dick's sudden smirk. "Hey, be nice, she saw him out on a date last night with a girl from her calculus class."

"Fine, but she didn't have to hit me. What is it with girls like Veronica and her, why do they have to resort to violence with me?" Dick asked as he winced in pain.

"Oh the reasons..." Logan said trailing off as he saw Dick rubbing his stomach like Mac had actually hurt him. "You know she could have punched you about eight inches lower."

Mac exited the boat, ship, yacht whatever the heck it was vowing vengeance on Dick after he had came down from the wheelhouse and had made yet another suggestive and leering offer of tutoring.

Arriving in her dorm room to hear Parker getting busy with Piz, she considered crashing in his room but then remembered that Wallace was going to his mom's place for the night since he was leaving for an away game early the next day.

Deciding on doing the same, she arrived at her parent's place, snuck off to her old room and crashed onto her bed, smiling a bit as she remembered Logan's news that Veronica had said yes to the trip to the countryside for five days and four nights that weekend.

In the morning, arriving in the kitchen to see Ryan running his last day of experiments, she watched her mom sigh as she looked at the bananas. "Mom?" 

When Ryan had gone to get ready for school her mom said "I will be so happy to take a break from bananas. I have tried every recipe I could find on the Internet so that the bananas don't go to waste but even it is running out of ideas."

Mac laughed and offered to take a bunch but her Mom pointed her to the garage. "We have about ten bunches left. I was thinking you could take them to Veronica and your other friends. I will even pay you if you make them disappear."

Mac went to the garage and saw that the leftover bananas were in various states of ripeness and had a wicked idea. Going back inside the house, she kissed her mom and said "No payment necessary, I promise to put those bananas to good use."

Deciding she was going to have a little fun with Dick, she looked in her purse and found the key card Logan had given her a few weeks ago. "I knew there was reason I didn't return this."

Thanks to Veronica, she was able to get Dick's schedule and through hijacking his phone for about an hour in the student union that afternoon, she soon had his planner. Going to her dorm, she sat down and looked up the site that her mom had told her about and began to write on the first group of bananas.

Joining Veronica at the suite later that afternoon, she waited until Veronica had distracted Logan and went to 'play' games with Dick.

"So what was the real reason there were words on your banana, Macster?" He asked after she had kicked his ass at his game. She had been moving around the furniture, a bit worried as she once again felt the heat that said Dick was now seated next to her again.

Hoping she had better acting skills than Aaron Echolls, she turned to Dick and said "Uh, what are you talking about?"

"You know the message on your banana that said don't use your teeth." He explained as he sat there next to her, surprised to realize he had enjoyed himself that evening yet again hanging with Mac. He often avoided her due to the memories of Beaver and more worryingly the awareness of her by his libido.

"Are you saying that my banana told you not to use your teeth? Yeah, right Dick. Any excuse to give me a hard time. I thought that we were if not friends that we had declared a truce, but clearly that isn't true." With that, she grabbed her bag and left the penthouse.

Sitting in her car, she reached over for her messenger bag and pulled out the bananas she had traded for her own specially designed ones. 

* * *

Dick woke up at six, went to knock on Logan's door and was told he would meet him at Dog Beach. "'Kay dude, but find out from Ronnie what is up with Macster."

Going to the kitchen, he grabbed his standard, fruit and a Gatorade. Looking at the banana, he saw that there were no words on it and shaking his head, reminded himself that the words hadn't been meant for him.

On the beach, he caught the first wave he saw and rode it in enjoying the peace of the early morning quiet. Two more rides and he waded into shore and went to grab his banana.

Putting it on the inside of his wet suit, he paddled back out, sat on his board and peeled his breakfast. He was about to toss it overboard when he blinked and read "Don't forget to swallow."

"What the fuck?" Looking around for someone, he saw only a man walking his dog and in the distance a guy jogging.

Heading towards shore, he wiped out midway in on a medium wave, his nerves jangled at the words on the fruit. Dropping the rind into the ocean as he fell into the water, he was soon on shore, gasping for breath.

He was on his way to the car when he saw Logan pulling up. "You're too late."

Looking at his cell phone, Logan said "I told you I would meet you at seven, its six fifty two."

"I lost my banana." He snapped.

"Okay." Logan said. "Maybe its karma for stealing Mac's yesterday."

"Mac." Dick said then looking around didn't see her little green toy car. "Maybe...never mind."

Stomping to his truck, he got rid of the sand, went to the suite, showered and was on his way to the Hearst campus, determined to ask Mac if she had messed with his banana.

Finding her in the student union along with her overly cheery roommate, that dishrag Piss and Wallace, he went to the cashier and bought a banana.

Dropping it on the table in front of her, he snapped "Here, I replaced your precious banana. Now leave mine alone."

"Uh, thanks." Mac said looking at him like he was nuts. Dick knew that look, it was a Veronica Mars special.

"I mean it, no more freaky messages on my fruit, Mac." He ordered.

"Okay." She said then Dick saw her looking at Wallace.

Parker smiled at him like she was convinced he was crazy too, which upset Dick so he asked "Are you in on it?"

"On what?" Piz asked staring at the upset blond now standing in front of them wearing a shirt that had him looking the other way feeling embarassed to be seen with him and a pair of cargo pants. He couldn't believe Wallace knew this idiot let alone that Veronica and Mac did.

"The messages on my bananas." He said.

"Messages on your what?" Wallace asked. Dick saw his eyes narrowing and then he asked "Are you drunk already, Dick?"

"No, look, yesterday my banana said don't use your teeth and today it said to remember to swallow." He informed them. When they all just stared at him, he stomped away, brushing past Chip who turned to follow him.

* * *

Mac was listening to Veronica's story about how Dick had confronted her about messages on his bananas. "I am beginning to think that he is cracking up. I told him to skip the bananas and stick to the apples, that they don't talk."

Hiding her need to laugh, she said "I know, he accused me earlier today. He tried to tell me that the banana I took to Logan's yesterday had a message on it that said something about teeth and that today's had someone about swallowing. I think it is a practical joke on his part."

"The messages do sound like something that Dick would say, aren't they." Veronica replied then hearing her phone ringing answered it. A ten minute conversation with Logan later, she asked "Is there anyway you could check on Dick, make sure he doesn't end up in jail or worse this weekend. Logan is worried about Dick."

"Sure, as long as I don't have to go to the penthouse with you both gone." She replied.

"He should be at the frat house most of the weekend. They are having a party." Mac kept her need to smirk off her face as she realized that if Dick was drinking this weekend, it meant that he would be more susceptible to her mischief.

Early the next morning, Mac slipped into the penthouse and planted the fruit. On campus she saw Dick arriving to attend class and how spooked he was. Moving towards him she waited until he was halfway to the sidewalk before she called out "Dick, did Logan give you the message?"

"What message?" Dick asked then said "Wait, tell me what this says?

"What what says?" She asked as he dragged her to his car. When he opened the door and leaned in to grab the rind, she said "Oh god, is this about the banana, again?"

When he removed the rind and pushed it into her hands he said "What does that say?"

Mac looked all over the now over ripe yellow skin and said "That you are disgusting. Throw this stupid thing away."

Walking over to a trash can, Mac made a point of tossing it away then moved back to Dick and rubbed her hand all over his shirt. "There, no more banana gunk on my hand. Seriously, Dick, that has to make your car stink."

"You didn't see anything?" He asked with wide eyes as he looked at the trash can, there was no way he could get that lid off to retrieve the fruit.

"No, was I supposed to see something besides a rotting banana skin." She retorted.

"It didn't say I want to be inside your muffins." He asked.

Mac let her jaw drop then she pretended anger as she said "Dick, that has got to be the most idiotic way to hit on a girl I have ever heard. Grow up, would you."

With that she stomped away as fast as she could. Meeting up with Weevil in his janitorial closet, she leaned against the wall and laughed until tears came as she said "You should have seen the look on his face when I accused him of hitting on me." 

Weevil who had switched out the banana rind in Dick's car while Mac had distracted him, chuckled then asked "Why are we doing this again? I mean as much as I enjoy messing with an 09er, I would like to know the reason."

"Let's just say that Dick is going to learn to think before he speaks or else." Mac replied.

"Oh man, there is going to end up being a banana shortage if you are going to do this until he learns to do that." Weevil replied then watched as Mac left and went to her morning class. 

* * *

Dick entered the penthouse suite, shaking his head, sure that Mac had had to read the words on the banana and that she had been pretending to not see them.

Tossing his books down, looking at the note from his psyche professor and knew that she would never believe him if he were to tell her the truth about why he had been so jumpy in her class. Forget drug intervention, he would end up in a padded cell. 

Moving towards the fruit bowl on the counter, he picked it up and tossed it into the trash, called down to the reception desk and asked them to send up a whole new bowl of fruit.

"Yes, Mr. Casablancas."

Heading to bed in spite of the fact that it was barely four, he fell asleep and dreamed that the bananas were chasing him. Awakened by the nightmare, he sat up in his bed and went to the living room where sure enough there was a fresh bowl of fruit.

Walking over, he looked at each piece, not a single word on any of them. Noting that the trash had been emptied, he went back to bed, sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Mac tiptoed into the suite, went to the fruit bowl and switched out both an apple and a banana before heading out. At her dorm, she quickly went to bed, planning on being to the student union as early as possible the next day.

Making a call to the police station as she arrived, she made the call she had promised Logan to make and when Tina came on asked "Tina, it's Logan's friend Mac. Did you see Dick leaving this morning?"

"Bright and early, he had his surfboard with him."

Perfect." Mac thought knowing that the heat of the sun would do her work for her.

* * *

Dick kept his fruit in his wet suit as he worked his way out to his favorite spot. Seated on his board, he unzipped his wet suit and pulled out the apple he had brought after carefully checking it over that morning.

About to take a bite, he smirked at the idea of getting one over on the person screwing with him, he stopped, looked at the bright red apple and almost fell off his board.

"Listen to the banana."

The words were clear as day and Dick was now convinced that he was losing his mind because they hadn't been there when he had put the apple in his wet suit.

Starting to surf in, he knelt down and paddled in, afraid he would wipe out again. Seeing Sheriff Mars walking his daughter's dog, he rushed over and said "Help!"

"Dick, what is it?" Keith asked the frantic blond.

"Look!" Dick shoved the apple in front of his face but in his haste he dropped it and Backup thought that it was a ball and grabbed it running off towards the surf. "Hey come back here."

Chasing after the dog who thought it was now playtime, Dick was just about to grab him when the dog gave him a grin that looked so much like Veronica's, that Dick stopped and stared a bit freaked out as Backup dropped and ate the apple.

"Richard, what is going on?" Keith asked as he arrived at the two some.

"My apple said listen to the bananas." He stated.

"Okay, what did the bananas say?" Keith asked with a straight face.

"To not use my teeth and for me to remember to swallow and the last one said I want to be inside your muffins and Mac was all upset with me for hitting on her, but I swear, I wasn't sir." Dick replied.

Keith took in the earnest expression on the boy's face and couldn't remembering him when he had been a ten year old trying to convince him that he hadn't meant to pull Veronica's pigtail.

"Richard, I am going to suggest that maybe you should cut down on the drinking. Son, it sounds like you are drinking a bit too much, nevermind that it is illegal."

"You don't believe me." Dick said staring at him.

"Would you believe you if you were in my shoes?" Keith asked feeling a tad bit guilty when he saw his bewilderment. "You want me to believe that you are getting messages from some mysterious place on fruit."

Dick opened his mouth to say that he would believe himself then closed it, knowing that he would think Logan was crazy if he told him that fruit was talking to him.

Going back to the Grand, he showered and went to his car. The banana had no words on it, but he was sure that at some point during the day it would speak to him and he wanted proof, he wanted someone else to see the messages.

Mac saw Dick carrying around the banana all day, heard the whispers of two Pi Sigs while she ate lunch and hid her gleeful joy at the news he had asked several different people if they saw words on his banana.

One girl had slapped him silly and at least a couple of his frat brothers were now convinced that Veronica was messing with Dick. Chip was leading that crew, mainly out of his major dislike for the blond in spite of how many times she had saved his butt.

When she saw Chip talking to Wallace, she moved closer and heard the Pi Sig president ask Wallace where she was. When he refused to answer, Mac moved in and said "Veronica is out of town with Logan, did you need something Chip?"

"Wait, when did they leave?" He asked his eyes narrowing.

"A day or so ago. Why?" Mac asked. "And how would it be any of your business?"

"Echolls went with her?" He asked sounding a bit frantic. "Do you have his number?"

"Yes." Mac said then looked at him without saying anything else.

"Give it to me." He ordered.

"Well if you had asked nicely I might have been nicer in telling you no but since you weren't. NO WAY IN HELL." Mac said with a smirk on her face.

Wallace looked at Chip and said "Why do you need Veronica or Logan?"

"Casablancas' elevator is a few floors short this week." Chip stated.

"Is that supposed to be a breaking news headlines?" Wallace asked and he heard Mac laugh. "What is he doing? As his frat brother's aren't you supposed to be supportive and stuff."

Chip started to explain then realized it sounded nuts so he just said "He is acting stranger than normal."

"Well he is a Pi Sigma Sigma, you all act strange if you ask me." Mac replied and guided Wallace away from the frat boy.

"He is right, though. Maybe we should call Veronica." Wallace replied.

"Why, because Dick is acting a bit strange. I don't think so. I promised Logan to keep him out of jail and alive, nothing was said about keeping him away from the men with the really nice tailored white jackets that tie up in the back." Mac replied.

Wallace chuckled and Mac hurried to her dorm room to change clothes before heading to the police station. Being sent to Keith Mars' office, she heard him chuckling when he saw her. "I guess it went well."

"Better than you would have believed. Dick was so nervous that he dropped the apple and Backup got ahold of it." Keith said. "He ate the evidence. Just to ratchet up the situation, I suggested that he quit drinking and reminded him that it was illegal."

"Thanks, sir." Mac hadn't told Veronica's dad what Dick said but had told him about the banana theft and how it had led to her 'pranking' the blond. He had agreed that it was harmless fun.

Returning to the campus, she was in the library when she had an idea for the next day so she wrote it down and went back to studying.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Listen to the Bananas**

Chapter Two

Dick went to bed, the banana on his nightstand. He had waited for the words to appear all day but all that had happened was that he had been slapped by some Theta and that his frat mates had banned him from the house the night of the party.

When the frat accused you of drinking too much, you really had to be worried, Dick was now moving past worried and into full on panic mode.

Dick woke up and saw that the banana was still there, no words, nothing. Laying back against his pillows, he looked over and the banana and felt the sheet tend up as he began to imagine Mac using it to practice her oral skills. In his fantasy he offered to be her test dick and she just knelt and unbuttoned his shorts and went to work.

Getting off into his hand, he went to shower the evidence and maybe, just maybe finish the rest of the fantasy. He didn't intend to surf that morning because he was sure that whatever was going on was connected to that beach so he had plenty of time to imagine Mac naked.

Dressing when he was done and in a much more relaxed mood, he was about to leave for the day, so reaching to grab his keys and unplug his cell phone which was charging on the nightstand, he blinked and took a step back. When the banana didn't disappear, he, held it close to his face and read "You forgot the lube." 

"Okay who is doing this? Whoever is here, you had better come out." He could hear the frantic fear on his tone and tried to calm down, determined to find out who was there.

Opening and closing the few doors in the suite, he went out on the balcony before returning to his bedroom. Moving towards the banana, he felt his jaw dropping and lifting the fruit, looked it over as carefully as he could. There were no words to be found.

Setting it back down, he walked out of his bedroom and went to pour himself a glass of vodka, the first drink he had had in now three days. Draining it, he went back to his bedroom and sure enough the banana was still there with no words on it.

Grabbing his keys, he said "Enough of this shit."

Making plans to go someplace with people, anyplace he could find, he got almost to the door and swore. "I forgot my phone."

Returning to the bedroom, he reached for the cord to unplug it when he saw there were words again. Lifting the banana with a sense of dread, he read out loud "I am not a dildo."

Backing away, leaving the banana on the nightstand, Dick ran out the penthouse door and began pressing the down arrow button. Heading out of the hotel, leaving his car behind, he took a cab to the mall, knowing that on a Saturday it would be full of people.

* * *

Back in the penthouse, Mac slide from under Dick's bed, wiped the tears off her face and removed the banana before going to the main part of the suite. Making a call she was told "He took a cab to the mall."

Going back into Dick's room, grimacing at what she had heard him doing and furious with herself for reacting to it, she just double checked to make sure she hadn't left anything from her early morning visit and went to decide what to do next.

Mac looked in the fruit bowl and recalled what Veronica said about pears and Logan's fear of them, so she regretfully removed the green fruit, trying to figure out what to do next.

Keeping up the funny ideas was getting to her because she didn't want to send Dick to Mental health services, she just wanted to make him think.

She was on campus hanging out with Parker when she had an idea but she needed another accomplice. Looking speculatively, she went to the counter and asked the blond working. "You are in my sociology class, aren't you?"

"Yes, I usually sit a few rows in front of you. You're Mac right?" The pretty girl said.

"Do you know a Pi Sigma named Dick Casablancas?" She asked holding her breath that it wasn't some overly interested stalker or one of his past one night stands."

"Blond, good looking but a jerk, right?" She asked and Mac nodded yes. "Yes, sort of. He went to Neptune High right?"

Mac held her breath in fear that this girl might talk about Cassidy but nodded yes.

"I remember the press when his brother died and stuff." She said. "I am Tonia, I went to Pan."

"Is there anyway you can tell me who is working at the counter tomorrow morning during breakfast?" Mac asked.

"Sure, one second." Within a minute, Tonia said "Besides me, there is Jake, Timmy and Beth. Why?"

"I need some help with something but you can't tell anyone." Mac said and when Tonia slowly nodded, Mac filled her in on the plan. "Dick has hit on me and saying he is getting messages from the fruit on how to do it. Would you help me mess with him?"

"Sure, as long as no one gets hurt." She warned cautioning her.

"It's not that bad. I just want to have you hand him a specific bag with fruit in it when he comes to get breakfast. I know Dick so I have a good idea which piece he will pick, so if you will put it in a bag then do a little slight of hand and give him a different bag, that is all I need."

"The bag he really gets will have the words on it, right?" Tonia asked with a smile on her face.

"Yes, he might or he might not guess that I am behind this particular incident but I promise, he won't know you are." Mac said.

"I'm in." Tonia repeated then said "Is it going to be possible for him to open the bag here. I would love a good laugh."

"I will do my best." Mac replied with a smirk on her face.

"What is it going to say?" Tonia asked.

"I am not sure, I have two different ideas. It depends on if he goes with the banana or the apple." She replied.

"He could go with the pears." She warned.

"No we avoid pears." Mac replied and thanking her again went to plan for the next day before calling Dick. "Hey, Dick. Are you going to be able to go with me tomorrow."

"Why am I doing this again?" Dick asked.

"Logan asked you to." Mac replied. "Its only to San Diego, its not like I am dragging you to New York."

"Its not the trip, its riding in your little green toy car that is the issue instead of my Audi." He said with a heavy sigh. "Fine, I will meet you at the Grand in the morning."

"I have to lend someone my notes for my calculus class, Jenny is meeting me at the student union. Could we meet there?" Mac asking holding her breath.

"Sure." Dick replied and Mac could hear that he was in the food court at the mall and that there was a girl with him.

* * *

Dick arrived first thing the next morning, a bit put out because he had gotten the blond from the mall back to his suite but she had been a bit off after he had requested she check over his fruit bowl for words and then when he had asked to look at the banana beside his nightstand and asked her if it said anything.

She had asked him what it was supposed to say and he had repeated what the banana had said that morning. He had been slapped again as she had stormed out of the suite. He had ended up falling victim to his own fantasies yet again and he knew he had to get laid and put a stop to that.

Now here he was being forced to spend the day with Mac who could barely stand him and they were both doing this as a favor for Logan and Veronica. His weekend couldn't get any worse.

Seeing Mac talking to who could only be Jenny, he threw himself down on a chair at the table Veronica and she had claimed at the beginning of the school year.

Reaching across the table, he was about to grab Mac's water bottle when her phone rang. Lifting it, he said "Mac's phone."

"Who is this and why are you answering my daughter's phone at six in the morning?"

Dick heard the angry father and quickly answered. "Mac is talking to some girl and I was sitting near her phone at our table."

"Who is this?"

"Dick." He said not adding his last name sure that the last thing her dad would want to hear was that he was a Casablancas after Beaver's mess ups, bombings and death.

"Oh, Cassidy's brother." He heard the man's voice get less hostile. "This is Mac's father. I knew she was going to San Diego today and I just wanted to remind her about her brother's booth at the Science Fair tomorrow. Ryan is really excited and I know he is hoping she will be there."

"Will put it in her reminders, dude-er Mr. Mackenzie." Dick said. "Sides, its Mac how likely is it that she would forget?"

"True."

There was a moment of awkward silence then Mr. Mackenzie said "Thank you, Richard. Tell my daughter I said have a good time."

"Will do." He said then hearing dial tone looked up to see that Mac was now speaking to Weevil. Getting hungry and not daring to steal her food again, he walked to the counter and grabbing his fruit, sure that whoever was screwing with him couldn't predict which particular banana and apple he would get from the food court, randomly picked two and went to pay.

Getting his bag and his change, he walked back just as Mac waved at Weevil and joined him. "What did he want?"

"See unlike some people, Weevil understands basic common courtesy that states when you see people you know, you should at least greet them politely." Mac said as she picked up her stuff.

Dick looked at her and said "I understand it, I just ignore it. Why do that if you don't like someone. I mean what a waste of time."

"There is that but then I like Weevil." She replied as she lead the way to her car.

"Are you sure that we can't take mine?" He asked moaning about being seen in the Volkswagon Beetle when they could take his Audi.

"Part of the reason for the trip is so that my car can get tuned at the dealership across from the museum. Its why it was originally Veronica and myself but since Logan kidnapped her and my parents don't like me to drive alone to the city, Logan made me promise to bring you instead."

"What about Wallace, Weevil or Parker?" He asked after being silent the entire time it took to get onto the Interstate.

"Wallace is in Oregon for the game against the Ducks last night, Parker thinks that its a waste of good money and do you really see Weevil in the museum for any length of time?" Not that she thought Dick would be better but Logan swore it would be fine.

"No, I guess not. Why not postpone the trip?" Dick asked.

"The exhibit is only in town this week, Veronica and I bought the tickets ages ago and I didn't want to miss it." Mac said as she looked over at Dick. He at least looked the part of someone who should be at the art museum, wearing black dress pants and a nicely ironed white dress shirt. 

"Still I guess what I am getting at is why me?" He asked looking at her taking in the way she was wearing a sundress that for some reason reminded him of his best friend's annoying girlfriend. Purple was more of a Veronica color. Mac was more of a red or a blue or even a green than a purple, Dick thought.

"Logan seemed to think that I needed a guy with me." She said as they came up upon the first exit into San Diego.

"Hey, get off here a minute." Dick said and Mac after checking traffic did as he requested. "There is the best pancake place just to the right of the exit. If you want me to go spend a day at the museum, we have to stop there."

Mac didn't object but she was a bit worried that he wouldn't find the fruit if they did but pulled in and parked in the shade. Entering the small diner they were seated near the counter and she heard Dick exclaim that they had the best peanut butter pancakes.

Two orders later, Mac had to concede he was correct as she spread the thin layer of jelly on the top of her stack and watched as Dick moaned in ways that were warming her blood and causing it to pool deep inside. she didn't want to think about.

"So Macster, you have to agree that those were the best." He said as they walked back to her car. When she put the convertible top back down, he got in and said "You know I think other than when I have been too drunk to drive this is the first time I have ever let a girl drive me."

"Aw, is this upsetting your male ego?" She asked looking at him as he put on his sunglasses and leaned back.

"Hell no, I think that this is the way to travel for now on." He replied. "I think I am going to hire a female chauffeur, course I should probably make sure she is ugly so I don't try to do her in the back of it. Or maybe a lesbian so she isn't jealous when I am doing some hot babe in the back, no, then she might be jealous she isn't doing the hot babe." 

"There's the dick I know." Mac said in amusement as she got back onto the Interstate. When he laughed himself, she saw his hand snaking out to hit the buttons trying to turn her radio on.

Finding a station that they both agreed up, she stayed silent the rest of the trip into the museum. For an art museum, it was in an iffy part of town so Mac was happy to leave her car at the dealership where it was getting an oil change, a tune up, a detailing and an inspection.

Crossing the road, they hurried inside the museum, Mac and Dick handing over their tickets and showing their student Ids before heading inside.

"So what art has you all hot and bothered, Edvard Munch, the Dutch Masters or the Impressionists?" Dick asked as they crossed the marble lobby.

With a slightly embarrassed smile Mac admitted that she had come to see the exhibit of da Vinci Vitruvian man and the mock ups of his inventions. 

"Ah the perfect man. Makes sense that Veronica and you would want to see that." He said with a smirk. "What else?"

"Let's just start with those." Mac suggested not sure that Dick would behave long enough to visit even those items. Heading to the correct gallery, she often found art work to stop and admire and after the third time Dick was able to tell her the name of the piece without looking, she turned and said "Okay, do you have some deep dark secret interest in art that no one knows about."

When he looked down to the floor, Mac said in a soft voice "Cassidy?"

His head coming up sharply, he said "Sort of. Mom when we would spent our one weekend a month with her would drag us to various museums, the concert halls and such. She would force feed it to us. She used to say that the only art we would be exposed to with dad was those painting of the dogs playing poker."

"Oh." Mac hadn't known and now felt bad at the idea of bringing up memories of Cassidy. "I'm sorry you got roped into this."

"It's fine. Beaver and me, we were still young enough at the time to think if we paid attention and were good she would let us spend more time with her. It became a game and I sort of enjoyed it. Then she got remarried and even the monthly visits stopped. But the museums, they were a good memory of Beaver, so thanks."

Mac found herself reaching and giving Dick a one-armed hug before they moved onward through the museum to the exhibit she wanted to see the most.

Dick followed Mac a few steps behind after the slight embrace, his mind reminding his body that the girl was his late brother's girlfriend so he just enjoyed the time spent remembering the past.

He knew that she was still hung up on Beaver, she had to be why else would she send flowers to his grave. White little daisies sent anonymously that often had him feeling sick to his stomach when he would see fresh ones when he went to visit his brother.

When they finally arrived at the small gallery holding the exhibit, he sat down on the bench after admiring the main work and simply watched Mac, once again reminded of how different she was than the girls they had gone to school with.

Most of them wouldn't visit a museum unless there was a cocktail party being hosted inside of it. In fact, Madison had constantly moaned and groaned the summer they had 'dated' about her parents dragging her around Europe to look at art and how they hadn't let her go to any clubs.

He couldn't help thinking that Mac would have been a better fit with the Sinclairs who seemed to love art and reading and were about as unlike their daughter as could be.

Amusing himself with the idea of Mac being a Sinclair, he missed it when Mac came and sat down next to him until he heard someone asking her a question. When she directed the tourist to the far exit, he shook off his fantasy and said "Ready to go to the courtyard."

When she got a grin on her face, he held up the program for the museum and said "Did you know that he created a robot?"

"Yup, he called it a mechanical man." She said as they went outside and went to view the bridge, the ornithopter with its wings and the machine that looked eerily like a helicopter. "Wow and he did this in the fifteenth century."

Dick asked the docent if any of the items had been given a practical try out and was told that there was a video for sale in the library that showed how some of them had worked and how others hadn't. "We have got to get that."

Mac chuckled at his enthusiasm but when she looked at her watch noticed that it was almost twelve. "Are you hungry I will buy you some lunch in the cafe?"

"As if I am going to let a girl buy me lunch." He said teasing her and when she dragged him off to the next exhibit, he saw that it was furniture from the same era and quickly changed his mind about the food. 

In the cafe after they had gotten their over priced sandwiches and soda, they found a table and Mac admitted "I expected you to bolt a couple of galleries ago."

"Nah, I did like most of what Mom showed us, well except the opera. I hate how they sing throughout the whole show." He replied with his nose scrunched up in disgust.

Mac really wanted to ask about Bettina Casablancas, but knew that it had been a difficult subject for Beaver so she was sure that it also was for Dick so instead she asked "Who do you like?"

Dick seemed to not be able to answer at first then he relaxed and said "Oh, you mean as an artist, right?"

"Yes, what did you think I mean." She asked confused.

"I thought you had talked to Logan about me and I swear he is a bigger gossip than most girls and can't keep a secret about shit like that if his life required it." Dick said shaking his head. "Though, I guess he can when it is his secret about liking Veronica. You know, he got drunk one night when they were fighting after Mercer was caught and confessed to having liked her since seventh grade. That is some fucked up shit considering the last half of tenth and most of eleventh grade even before throwing in that he dated Lilly while liking Ronnie." Dick said.

"Relationships are messy like that." Mac said as they walked back to where they had left off in the museum. An hour later, their feet now tired, they made a stop to the museum gift shop that had Mac laughing as Dick ended up with two bags of stuff to her single book and a few post cards.

Mac paid for her car work and went to find Dick who was admiring the new Porsche parked out front for sale in the show room. "See now this is a car."

"Funny so is mine." She said then asked "Do you want a bib to contain your drool."

"Nah, I like them but I don't fit easily in the Porsche, they work better for shorties like Veronica and yourself." He replied as he reluctantly left and got into her Beetle.

On the drive home, Mac looked at Dick who was staring out the window seemingly distracted by some deep thoughts. "Where are you?"

The blond looked over at her and said "I think twelve miles from Neptune unless you have kidnapped me and we are on our way to Tijuana."

"I mean, mentally you don't seem here." She said wondering why she was suddenly so interested in Dick's thoughts.

"Oh that." He replied then admitted "Florence. There is this really great museum there, Beaver and I used to read about it. There are a lot of great museums in Italy. Greece too."

"I always wanted to see the Coliseum." Mac admitted as they got closer and closer to Neptune, she found some part of her didn't want to go back. "The Trevi Fountain, the Forum, St. Peter's Square." 

Dick looked at Mac and said "We both know that you will go there, you are too smart to not end up there after graduation. Or with your mad computer skills even before that." 

Mac ducked her head a bit embarrassed at the feelings he was creating but seeing the sign that said Arriving in Neptune, she reminded herself that this was Dick, yes they had had a good day and she was going to stop the pranks but that was all that was going to change.

He still saw her as Ghostworld and she knew that would never change. Pulling into the parking lot on campus, she said "Thanks for coming with me."

"Sure." He said really not wanting to go but knowing that Mac had been asked to keep him out of trouble and that she had only let him go because no one else had been available. Grabbing his bags, he hopped out of her car and went to the trunk of his.

Mac saw the white deli bag with his fruit and slid it under her own bag and when he came back, she lied when he asked if she had seen it. "No, maybe when they detailed my car they threw it out."

"Okay. See you around, Mackie." He said and was on his way to his car needing the space to remind himself of who they both were. Hearing the sound of a crash, he turned to see a kid on a bike detangling himself from Mac. "Oh shit." 

Heading over just as Wallace and Piz came out of the hall, he saw them helping Mac and how she was favoring her ankle. "We should get you to the hospital."

"Hey what about me, doesn't anyone care that my bike is trashed?" The other kid was asking as he stood removing his helmet.

"No because you should have been on the bike path. The signs say no bikes allowed in this area." Dick snapped.

While he had turned to yell at the idiot, he missed as Mac asked Wallace to take her to the hospital. Looking back, he saw the baller asking his roommate to take his overnight bag and his gym bag to their room and was helping Mac into the passenger seat of the VW.

"Do you want me to come too?" He asked a bit hopefully.

"No, that's fine. Thanks again, Dick." Mac said ending her statement with a quick yelp as she put pressure on her ankle. 

Watching them leave, he saw Piz go get the two bags near the path and without a word the DJ carried them inside. Dick went to the Audi, considered going to the hospital anyhow but knowing that his presence wouldn't be wanted.

Mac listened as the doctor told her that it was a thankfully only a wrenched ankle not a full on sprain. "It will be tender for a while and you will need to use crutches for a few weeks but it will soon be good as new."

Mac looked at Wallace and said "this sucks. How I am going to get around to class?"

"We could put wheels on you." He said and was smacked for the comment as he helped her back to her car. "So what was up with Dick and you getting out of your car earlier?"

"That museum exhibit I wanted to see. No one else was available and Logan suggested that I keep Dick out of trouble this weekend."

"That had to have been fun. Dick Casablancas in an art museum." He said sarcastically.

"Actually, it was." Mac admitted then when they were back on campus had Wallace carry her bags as she maneuvered her way to the elevator in her dorm hall. A painful trip to her room, one offended roommate when Mac entered in spite of the towel tied to the handle and a pissed off roommate for Wallace later, Mac was listening to Parker slam the door as she left.

"Are they serious?" Wallace asked as he helped her sit on her bed. "Piz knew you went to the hospital. Since when do they keep you when you hurt your ankle. Did she really expect you to vacate the room so that they could have sex?"

Shrugging, Mac laid down and said "Its not the first time since they began going at it that she had expected that. More like the tenth this month alone."

"Wow, see Piz knows better than to even think of asking me to do that. What do you do?" Wallace asked.

"Most of the time I head to the library and study to almost midnight since Veronica is usually working, crash at the Mars residence or go home for the night." Mac said.

Wallace didn't like this and he was determined to mention it to Veronica when he saw her in two days but for now, he handed Mac the water he had gotten from her fridge along with the light pain killers.

Leaving her room so that she could sleep and he could have it out with his roommate about being more considerate, he heard his phone buzzing yet again.

Answering it, this time, he heard "How's Mac?"

Looking in shock at his phone after the worried tone of Dick's voice came through he said "It's a wrenched ankle. She has to be off of it for a couple of days and on crutches for a few weeks. It hurts but she will live."

"Thanks man." With that Dick hung up and Wallace left a message for Veronica on her voice mail and went to his dorm. Seeing the way that Piz was glaring as he entered, he said "Don't start."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter** Three**

Dick was up early surfing again, the day before had had no strange incidents so he was expecting at some point that day to get a message on a piece of fruit. 

Returning to shore after several great rides, he washed his feet, put his surf shoes back on and headed to the Grand to spend the day playing video games and maybe at some point he would call and check on Mac to see if she wanted anything.

He had just showered and was dressing when he saw the note sticking out of the pocket of the pants from the day before, so lifting it, he read it and swore as he recalled that her brother had a science fair today, that only college kids had the day off.

Remembering all the fairs where Beaver had entered and his dad hadn't shown up and that he had been the same once he had hit middle school, Dick felt bad for the kid that Mac wouldn't be able to go so he decided to go.

Not sure what school the kid was at or what grade, he was stymied until he had an idea. Driving to his dad's place, he tracked down a list of old teachers numbers he had and dialed the one for his science teacher.

Hoping he didn't get his head bit off, he made a call. "Hey, it's Dick Casablancas."

"Casablancas?" Mr. Wu sounded astounded. "Why are you calling me?"

"You know science stuff right? So what school is having a science fair because I promised someone I would be there today."

There was the sound of someone choking then the man said hoarsely "Neptune Middle is hosting the elementary science fair."

"Thanks, dude." Dick said then hung up. Driving to the middle school finding only about four cars in the parking lot, he entered to see tables and chairs being set up. Crossing to where there were teachers standing, including Mr. Wu, he said "hey, what time is th is this shindig supposed to start?"

"At eleven." Mr. Wu said and Dick left as quickly as he had come. Heading to the nearby mall to kill time, he saw the travel agency and found himself fingering brochures for trips to Europe, a smile on his face until he realized that organized tours so wouldn't be Mac's thing.

Leaving and once again reminding himself that Mac was off-limits, that she was still Beaver's girl, he went shopping ending up with a few new games, a couple of travel guides and a margarita maker.

A Cinabon and peach later, he drove back to the middle school to see more cars on the parking lot. Entering the gym to see a larger crowd milling around but not a huge one, he realized that the exhibits didn't have names on them.

Going back to where Mr. Wu was sitting at a table and making notes, he said "Dude, do you know where the Mackenzie table is."

His science teacher looked up and said "Do you know what the experiment Mackenzie is doing?"

Struggling to recall what Mac's dad said, he said "No. I guess I will have to look around and find a short kid who looks a bit like Mac."

Walking around the exhibits on the one side that seemed to be full of volcanos predicted to explode, he shook his head as he doubted that Mac's brother if he was any thing like her would do something so common place.

A few potato clocks and motors later, Dick saw a kid using electronics to create a robot but he was sure that wasn't Mac's brother unless she was adopted. No, this kid looked more like he was related to Charleston.

Seeing Fennell a few booths down, he moved over and greeted the boy there and said "Hey, Wallace."

"Dick, what are you doing at a science fair?" He asked stunned to see the blond who had had to retake the senior year physics at the fair.

"Mac's bro was to be here and I knew she couldn't be." He said not mentioning Beaver since he knew that Wallace hated his brother.

"Ryan is here? I wonder why she didn't mention it?" Wallace replied. When he saw his brother looking his way he said "Got to go, little bro needs help."

Watching Wallace go and help his brother, Dick walked away once again feeling guilt as he saw all the kids with parents and knew that his brother had to have felt alone when he had attended these things.

Seeing Mr. Wu tense up as he approached again, Dick said "Relax dude. I just now know Mac's bro's first name. Its Ryan, I would guess Mackenzie."

"You are dating Ms. Mackenzie?" The shock in his voice made Dick wince as he got that not even his old teacher thought he could get someone that smart to date him. Or maybe it was because he knew that Mac had dated Beaver and that it was wrong for him to... No, he reminded himself. You only want to be friends with Mac. Sort of.

"Richard?" When Dick looked at the man, he said "I believe that Ryan Mackenzie is in the smaller room, he is only seven or eight. I think that they aren't judging those experiments."

"Seven?" He asked shaking his head as he went to see what Mac's brother looked like. Still not sure which kid was her brother, he was happy to see that the smaller room had more people as what looked like second and third graders showed up their experiments.

That some of them were better than the ones in the judging area had him watching as each kid showed off what he could do. Being shown exploding baking soda in pop bottles, an experiment that smelt like rotten eggs and one on how to make an egg stand, he found himself wishing he had paid better attention in school as a kid.

The next little boy was nervous as he stepped up and to Dick's surprise put a bunch of fruit on the table in front of him. "Hello, I am Ryan Mackenzie. My experiment is on how to speed up the ripening of fruit."

As the blond boy explained how he was going to use words and pictures on the banana to show how his experiment worked when the fruit was kept in a warm place compared to how if it was allowed to ripen naturally, Dick was pissed.

By the time Ryan finished with the bananas and had moved on to the other fruit on the table, he was resigned. When Mac's brother had moved to his conclusion, Dick had looked over and seen Mac standing nearby on crutches looking proudly at her little brother.

Something inside of him twanged with jealousy, regret and so many other emotions that he didn't understand but he felt compelled to go to her.

Walking around the crowd as they clapped for Ryan, he was soon behind Mac and leaned down to whisper "You are caught, Mackenzie. I will so get revenge for this, someday. Maybe not right away but I will wait, years if I have to."

Mac couldn't help it, she was so proud of Ryan that when she turned to Dick, she had a grin on her face and that grew when she saw that while his words were threatening the look on his face wasn't as he looked at the swollen ankle.

Easing her back so that she was leaning against him, he said "let's find you a chair."

"You shouldn't be on that foot." He said but before he could finish his thought a small blond tornado rushed to Mac, hugged her and asked if she had seen it. "Good job, little dude."

Ryan whose arms were around Mac, stopped hugging her and turned to glare at him. "Who are you and why are you holding my sister like that?"

Two adults came over and after hugging Ryan and telling him how proud they were off him, asked Mac why she hadn't stayed in her chair. "I wanted to see Ryan's experiment."

A teacher approached and handed Ryan a paper and he cheered and handed it to Mac. "I got an A+, Cindy."

Mac hugged her brother again and Dick saw how she seemed almost teary eyed so he stayed quiet, but when his parents had again congratulated Ryan, her brother turned to look at him again. "Who are you and why are you holding Cindy?"

Dick suppressed his need to smile at the name and said "I am a friend from school and she was hurting so I was holding her up so that she could cheer you on."

"Okay but you had better not hurt her like that last boy. If you make her cry too, I will tell her friend Veronica on you. She had a big dog and a sparky thing and her dad is a police officer who can arrest you." He warned him with a glare and his dad hastily held out his hand and greeted Dick.

"Sorry about that, after last year, even though he doesn't understand what happened, Ryan is very protective of Cindy." He said. "Richard, correct?"

"Yes." Dick swallowed hard, trying to get the lump out of his throat at the reminder that Beaver had made Mac cry. Looking at the sick expression of past emotional pain and her current physical pain and Dick suggested that they find "Find Ma-uh Cindy a seat."

"I can't." Mac said then looking at Ryan said "I promised to take someone to get something to eat anyplace he wanted to go if he got through the speaking part of this."

"Cool, can we go get some burgers and french fries and I really want a huge sundae too." Ryan replied.

"Cindy, I am not so sure you should be doing that today." Her mom said her eyes on the large bandage around her ankle. "Maybe we should drive."

"I will be fine. I drove over here all on my own." She said determined to keep her promise to Ryan.

"I will drive." Dick offered and heard silence at that statement. Looking at Mac who was scowling at him, he said "Whose car do you think your brother would be more excited to drive in, yours or mine?"

"Do you have a convertible too?" Ryan asked.

"Yes and it is a sports car." Dick said to further entice him.

"Are you sure?" Sam Mackenzie asked and Mac could only shake her head as her parents soon were making arrangements for Dick to drop her brother off later that night.

"If we are going to be any later, I promise we will call." Dick offered then he looked at Ryan and said "We will wait until you have helped take your stuff to the car."

"Okay but don't let Mac convince you not to go, she has that mom look on her face." He said as he walked off.

Dick looked at Mac and said "He is right, you do have a mom look, maybe not my mom but a normal mom look. The one that says you really don't want to be doing this but will do so because it makes him happy."

"Can I trust you?" She asked clearly worried he would use her brother to get revenge on her for her trick.

Dick leaned in and whispered "When I get my revenge, it is going to be between just the two of us. Not your accomplices, no one but you and me."

* * *

Sam watched the blond boy talking to his daughter as they reentered the classroom and saw Cindy flush in a way that he didn't want to think about his nineteen year old daughter doing so he asked for a moment of Dick's time.

Dick looked over at Mac and then agreed.

"I gather you like my daughter." He said leaving the rest of the statement open for interpretation to see what he said.

"Logan is my friend and he is dating Veronica who is her friend." He said. "We are sort of friends."

Getting that he didn't seem to realize his own interest was more than friendship and that it was probably hindered by Cindy having dated his brother, Sam let it go, sure that he would be having another talk with this boy at some point.

* * *

Ryan entered the suite after they had gone to Red Robin for their burger and had eaten the largest sundae in town and was thrilled to still be spending time with Cindy and even the blond boy with the great car.

"Why do you live in a hotel?" He asked. "Why don't you live with your family?"

"You know how Mac lives in the dorms, this is sort of Logan and my dorm." He replied.

"Wow Cindy you should get a dorm room like this." Ryan said looking at the huge television. "Maybe then you wouldn't have to come home so often and crash in your old room."

Dick looked at Mac and saw how tired and in pain she was. This time not taking no for an answer, he tossed Ryan the game he had bought and asked if he knew how to put it in the system.

Edging Mac towards his room, he said "Go, sleep."

When she began to protest, he threatened to carry her to the bed. "Do you really want your brother to report back to your parents that I did that?"

Clumping her way inside, Mac didn't bother arguing with him as she laid down on top of the covers and gave up her struggle against sleep.

* * *

It was almost five when Dick came to wake her and then decided not to. Returning to the living room, he handed Mac's phone to Ryan and told him to call his parents and tell them that he was driving him home.

At the Mackenzie residence he saw Mac's car in the drive and was told by her mother that she had driven it to the house. "Do you know if Mac-uh, Cindy had a travel bag in her trunk?"

"She might, I didn't look." Her mom said.

"She was out of it, I think she did too much and since Veronica and Logan are due back tonight, I left her asleep at our place." He said sweating a bit at telling a mom that her daughter was asleep on his bed.

"Thank you for today, for Ryan. He looks up to Cindy and had been looking forward to this." She said as she followed him to the VW to look for the bag. "Oh, would you tell Cindy that she must have a banana someplace in the car, I can smell ripening banana from a mile away now thanks to Ryan."

With a grin, Dick popped open the doors and found the deli bag, sure that at some point Mac had done something but thanks to the accident had forgotten about it. "Here is the culprit."

In the trunk, he found the duffel bag, unzipped and quickly rezipped it when he saw the lacy underwear on top. "This is it. Thanks, Mrs. Mac."

* * *

Mac woke up in the strange bed and heard the phone ringing nearby. Realizing that it was Dick's phone, she saw that the caller ID showed a picture of Logan so she answered. "Dick's phone, no Dick here."

"Mac?"

"Hey Logan. I think your roommate kidnapped my brother and that he stole my crutches and my phone too." She said bemused to realize she didn't really mind instead her usual paralyzing fear of being stuck in a hotel, she was more...more...more, she didn't know what but she did know that she wasn't scared of this Casablancas brother abandoning her for some reason.

"Dick?"

"Yes. We went to...never mind long story. Anyhow, why are you calling would you like to leave a message?"

"No?"

"Logan are we going to have this whole conversation with you only giving me one word answers?" She asked.

"Maybe." He replied with a laugh then asked "What did we miss?"

"Nothing, he was pretty good and I won't even charge you for babysitting this time." She said as she heard someone entering the suite. "Actually I think either your roommate is here or a burglar is in the suite."

Dick's blond head peeked in and Mac held up the phone. "Mr. Casablancas, Mr. Echolls for you."

Taking his phone, then looking at Mac went to the balcony. "Hey Man, I thought you would be here when I got back today."

"What is going on? Veronica wants to know how Mac ended up on crutches?"

"Idiot on a bike ran her over on campus." He replied.

"You had her brother with you?" He asked.

"No, it wasn't a big deal. I had to run Ryan home and I knew Mac wouldn't stay put so I put her crutches in your closet and left her my phone if she needed help." He said.

"We will be back in the morning. Veronica and I are skipping our morning classes." Getting silence, Logan asked "What is it?"

"Mac won't be happy. She did too much today and I was hoping Veronica would be here to help her change because there is no way she can manage the dorm hallway and shower." He said. "She is not going to like that she is going to have to stay."

"Good luck." Logan said and went back to his plan of romancing his girlfriend, sure that Mac could keep Dick out of trouble, after all unlike most girls she didn't take any crap from him.

* * *

Mac grimaced and said "Dick, I just...I can't shower here."

She might be less scared of being in the hotel with Dick but that didn't mean she was up to showering there. 

"Don't then, take a bath." He said. Getting what her issue was, he handed her her phone, then placed her bag and stuff in the bathroom before telling her. "I won't leave, just in case you end up falling but I promise to stay on the balcony, okay?"

Mac took her returned crutches and hobbled into the bathroom where she found that he had already drawn the bath. Blushing a bit as she settled into the bubble bath, uneasy as she tried to figure out who could have left it, she was soon clean other than her hair.

The bubble had almost faded away and she was feeling exhausted but she knew she had to wash her hair. Maneuvering around, she found that she could wash it but that rinsing it was going to be an issue.

"Dammit." She felt the tears and with a sense of doom, pulled a towel over herself and called out for Dick.

When he came in, she didn't look up, worried at what she would see, she asked "I hate this but I can't get my hair rinsed out. Would you help me?"

Dick's eyes wandered and he felt himself growing hard as he took in the wet silky skin exposed to his eyes even as he reached for the shower head. "Mac, did you know that the shower head is flexible and can be taken off the wall."

When it was clear she didn't, he turned the water on warm, handed it to her and asked if that helped any.

"Yes, thanks." She said and he retreated reminding himself that she was his friend or potential friend. This weekend had him conflicted in ways he hadn't been in so long.

Sitting down on the bed, worried she might need him again, Dick reminded himself that it was Mac whose body had him hard, but when he tried to picture her with Beaver, all he kept seeing was the girl angry with him on the boat. His wake up hard on fantasy the other morning kept rearing its ugly head.

Walking across to greet him as they left on Sunday. The museum and then the trip home. The time spent today with Ryan, they were all interspersed with the oddly well defined erotic fantasies coming to mind at the sight of her wet skin.

Staring at the ceiling, he pulled up mental pictures of Beaver, of Beaver at the morgue when he had had to identify him. Beaver at the funeral home, nothing more than a box of ashes that he had stuck under his bed at home, until his mother had insisted on interning them at the cemetery.

Getting control, he looked up to see Mac hobbling into the room in a pair of soft cotton shorts and a thin cotton t-shirt. "Hey, here let me move."

Once Mac was seated on the bed, he looked at her and happy that he had regained control of his libido said "I have something for you."

Giving her her pain pill and the bottle of water, he waited until her skin didn't look so white and said "I found the banana in the bag."

"Oh." She said with a slight smile. "Really?"

"Running out of ideas a bit weren't you Mac?" He said grabbing the bag on his dresser. "For a good time call 555-2453. Just to be funny I called it. Planned Parenthood? Seriously?"

"I wasn't sure which one you would go with. There was another." She said "It said the strawberries are jealous of me."

"Yup lame." He replied then leaning back looked at her. "I am guessing Ronnie's dad was in on it but who switched the banana in my car that morning."

"Weevil." She said.

"And the ones that were here on Saturday?" He asked and saw her blushing bright red. "Oh my, that was you. Where were you?"

If anything her face got even redder so he said "Where?"

"Underthebed." She answered as quickly as possible.

"Oh god, the en-entire time?" He asked his own skin now feeling tight as he recalled what he had done immediately when he had woke up. "When I uh..."

"Took matters into your own hands." She finished and was unable to look him in the eyes. "Yes.

"Shit Mac." He said and got up and left the room, his very vivid imagination showing him all the ways that his morning could have ended differently. He felt torn between nausea and anger but his body clearly felt differently. Standing there, his emotions all a mess, he was could only stare out over the skyline, hoping that the control he was slowly losing to his need returned.

**a/n: Bananas Madness returns next chapter, I had to get to Dick finding out it was Mac first. Also, yes, I know I left you hanging, but I promise tomorrow starts out with a 'love scene."**

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter dips into an R rating, proceed with ****caution!**

**Listen To The Bananas**

Chapter Four 

Back in his bedroom, Dick looked at her and saw she was slightly flushed. "I can't believe you. You let me..." 

It hit him what he had been fantasizing about and muttering. Trying to recall if he had said a name, he was relieved to realize that at least that hadn't happened.

Mac opened her mouth to tell him she was sorry but he looked at her and said "Don't say anything right now. Just don't."

Now feeling really guilty because she knew she would have hated for anyone to listen to her doing THAT. "Dick, I just, I am so-"

Before she could finish she was on her back and his hands were holding her head still as he pressed a hard kiss to her lips. He pulled back and then pressed his lips against her again before moving back mere millimeters and began to whisper.

Mac could feel the words as well as hear them as he said "I wish you had come up and helped me finish. You should have, after all you were the star of that little episode. I kept seeing you 'practicing on me, your lips and even your damn teeth making me hard as stone, your hands on my ass as you sucked me off. I came so hard, imagining it was pouring out against your skin."

"The come coating your breasts and your stomach. You tilting your head up so that I could kiss you afterwards. I imagined you asking me to join you in the shower and went in there and rubbed yet another one off, this time imagining you with your back against the tile wall and me pounding away between your legs as you begged me not to stop."

Gulping, Mac looked into Dick's eyes and saw how dark blue they had turned. "I-"

He covered her lips with his hand and continued. "You laid under my bed, listening, hearing that. Knowing you did that, has me wanting to fuck you senseless, forget about Beaver, forget about Ronnie tasering my balls off. Did it get you bothered, Mac. Did it do something for you?"

He was reading her eyes and Mac wanted to deny it but before she could he grinned and said "Did you relieve yourself, here? In my room? In my bed?"

"No." She squeaked because part of her had wanted to do that. Had wanted to help in spite of being revolted she had also been turned on that morning.

"You did some place, didn't you, Mac?" He said his hands traveling down her arms and encircling her hips, his thumbs brushing against her shorts there, right there. "Where Mackie? Did you imagine that it was me riding you hard, me fucking you."

Moaning, Mac tried to deny it but then he got a wicked grin and said "Or was it something else, did you imagine that I was kneeling between your legs, licking you out as you laid spread out for me like a buffet in my bed? Tasting you?"

When she tensed up a bit, he said "That was it, wasn't it, Mac."

Shaking her head no, unable to trust her words, he said "I think you are lying."

"No." She said then biting her lips, tried to keep the words in but they burst out as she admitted "Yes, dammit. Yes. I did but it was you and I in front of the mirror in my old bedroom back home. You, me and-that damn banana."

Dick leaned down, this time the kiss was mutual as Mac opened her mouth and her tongue tangled with his even as he was careful to stay off her injured leg. Pulling back when he could no longer breath, Dick said "Take your clothes off."

"No." She said as she felt his finger run down her pajama shorts to the hem that barely covered her upper thigh. When she bucked up into his hand, she said "I shouldn't."

"You aren't saying you can't, though." He replied as he watched her bite her lip and desperately wanting to be the one to do that.

"Dick, this is just physical, I can't..." Mac let out a soft keen as Dick moved her so that she was now in his lap and she could feel how solid he felt. She looked into his eyes and said "You will regret this in the morning. I know that you..."

"No, no I won't. I have been fighting this for too long." He said moving her hips so that she was rubbing against him. "Tell me yes, Mac. Just say the words so that I know you won't regret it."

Her eyes looked down at his body, hers resting against him and then up into his eyes and said "Protection. I am not on anything right now."

She felt him shuddering as he leaned in and said "Be right back."

Dick scrambled to the bathroom, grabbed a condom, then said "Screw it."

He brought the entire box into the room and tossed it down onto the bed. Kneeling in front of her, he said "Yes?"

"Y-yes." She answered then pulled her T-shirt up over her head to the sound of Dick removing his own. When he reached for hers and tossed it across the room with his, Mac found herself on her back, his hands on her head holding it still again as his mouth began to demand more as they kissed each other until lips were aching and swollen.

Breathing hard against her neck, he ran his hands down her side and cupped her breasts, watching her nipples pebble up. Mac didn't have the biggest boobs he had ever seen but damn they gave him a hard on like nothing he had ever felt as he teased and taunted them with his fingers.

Squeezing them between his thumb and index finger, he watched as she arched her back, her head buried deep in his pillow, her eyes closed and he didn't want that, he wanted to know she was there with him, that she wasn't imagining that he was someone else, someone like Be-anyone else. "Mac, look at me."

When she did, he kept eye contact even as he lowered his head and tugged at her nipple with his lips. Playing with one than the other, he saw her eyes turn almost gray, her hands holding his head closer to her.

"Dick." Mac's left hand let go of his hair, her fingertips running across his forehead and down his cheek to his arm and then across his chest, well defined by hours and hours of surfing.

Caressing him, she used her nails to play with his smaller buds and Dick thrust into the comforter, shocked at what she was doing. Sex for him was usually quick and dirty, girls only rubbing or sucking his dick off, no one had ever done what she had just done and he was stunned at the surge of heat at that small touch against his chest.

Moaning Mac's name out loud, he threw his head back, counting out loud to ten to try and keep from sliding home and riding her until they came in tangled mess of limbs, perspiration and moans.

Needing to get her closer to the edge like he was, he slid his hand down her flat stomach and across her hip until his hand was brushing lightly against her swollen wetness. Looking down, wanting to see her, he rolled her onto her back being careful of her ankle and parted her thighs.

The view had him shaking as he looked up to see a heaviness to Mac's eyes as she watched him through her eye lashes. "Mac, show me."

Not needing him to explain, she blushed, her hands which were still on his chest, fluttered in the air for a second, then one hand slide down to her thigh and the other reached up to curl around his arm. "I am not sure how. I mean, I have never, not like this."

"Pretend I am not here. That you are at your house, locked in your room and thinking of me." He said slowly as he felt his heart speed at the thought of watching her.

Mac smiled and Dick was reminded of one of those paintings he had once seen of a girl smiling from it wearing nothing at all. One of those Dutch paintings that his mom hadn't let him see as a kid. Now he understood what the woman in it had had been smiling about when Mac's hand moved from her thigh and her middle finger traced the path of her slightly parted lips.

She moved back to the top and the same finger encircled her clit and she began to strum it in a fairly regular pattern, her eyes on Dick's as she slid her middle finger down the more opened path, then came back to play with her clit, then again, this time a little deeper and a little further down as he found himself moving to sit between her legs, wanting to see everything.

Mac separated her thighs a bit more and Dick gasped as he watched the tip disappear inside of her. When it reappeared, slick with wetness, he moaned, then reached for her hand to stop her.

Lifting her hand, his eyes on hers, he sucked her middle finger into his mouth and Mac moaned and arched her back, sweat now between her breasts.

Leaning down, he licked at the area between her breasts as his hand took over Mac's pleasuring. Following the pattern she had set, he eased one finger in on the next down thrust and felt the tightness inside grip his finger until he pulled back.

"Dick, don't stop, please don't stop." Mac's voice was low as he lifted his head and began to tug on each nipple with his lips, moving between the two, finding himself desperate to taste them both.

On his next foray south, he eased two fingers inside and heard a moan with a bit of pain in it and he quickly retreated and went back to thrusting only his middle finger inside of her until Mac reached down, covered his hand and put both fingers back inside. "I don't want to hurt you, Mac."

"It's fine. I am just not used to it, yet." She said flushing a bit as she said "My fingers are a bit thinner than yours."

He could feel his dick twitching as she wouldn't let him pull his fingers out. Moving them in a scissoring motion, he felt Mac's insides begin to squeeze him tightly even as her hand came up to caress his erection. "Mac, stop, I am too close."

With a slight flush to her face, Mac reached down and tugged his hand from inside of her, eased onto her knees being careful to lay her one leg as flat as possible then, leaned down to slide him into her mouth.

"Mac!" Dick's low moan of pain had her pulling back. "I told you I am too close."

"I know." She said then pushed back on him a bit so that he was seated on his rear hunches and she could get at him easier. "You told me if I wanted to practice that you were available."

His eyes went wide, his heart began to flutter as Mac looked at him and said "I have never done this."

"Don't -." Dick couldn't finish as Mac lowered her head again and began to lick around him like he was an ice cream cone before sliding her mouth down as far as she could then easing it back.

He struggled, torn between his desire for this and his knowledge that he shouldn't have given in, that ended when her hand came over and gripped him at his base, while her mouth moved back and forth, stopping to lick his tip ever couple of retreating moves.

Fighting against coming, not wanting to come inside of her mouth, worried she might not want to do this ever again, he reached down and tugged at her hair when he felt himself on the edge of the abyss. "Mac, stop."

"Why?" She asked after she had sat back up. She saw the way his body was trembling and how he had his own hand now rubbing against his skin and said "Show me."

"I can't without making a mess and you aren't up for another shower." He said softly.

Mac looked at the condoms, then ripping open a condom and tried to hand it to Dick who reached over and guided her hand to sliding it on him.

Holding onto Mac's hand, he moved it at the right speed, showing her how to grasp onto him and let go. Mac grinned and soon had him right back on the edge. He watched her biting her lower lip and just as he was about to come, he tugged her head forward and using his tongue, soothed her abused lips even as he felt his body tense and then start to release.

Mac watched, her eyes on him as she slowed down only to have his hand clamp over hers to tighten the grip and speed it back up as he came in the condom.

Feeling Dick soften in her hand, Mac lifted her eyes and said "Next time I want to do what you were telling me about earlier."

She felt his him start to stiffen and said "I thought it took a while for that to happen."

"Sometimes." He admitted then looking at her said "Not when the girl you have wanted for a while is holding you and saying she wants a next time and that at that next time wants you to fulfill one of your fantasies, though."

Mac felt Dick's lips press against hers before he stood and went to take care of the condom. When he returned, she was laying on the bed under the covers when something occurred to her.

"Uh, did they change the sheets since yesterday morning." She asked blushing.

Reaching out, he tugged the comforter and sheets away, "Yes but why are you under them, we are so not done yet."

"I was getting a chill." She said. Laying down beside her, pulling the sheet over them, Dick said "I will warm you up."

Mac had expected him to kiss her, instead he had pulled the sheet over his head and pressed kisses down her neck to her breasts, teasing them erect again then lifting the sheet asked "Macster, did you know you have freckles on your boobs?"

Flushing a bit, she said "From being in the sun."

His eyes went down to the freckles so close to her nipples and the pale skin that didn't have any sort of tan lines and said "Bare?"

"Yes." She answered shyly and added "We go camping a lot and there is this small secluded spot that I like to swim at."

"Oh fuck, I have to go camping." He moaned as he ducked back under the sheets and showed her just how much he loved those freckles.

Mac tried to reach out and turn the lamp off but Dick was holding her in place as he kissed his way down her stomach. When she felt his tongue against her, she tensed up, "Dick, stop."

His head once again popped out from under the sheet and asked with a concerned look on his face "What is it?"

"I haven't done that either." She said blushing.

With a wicked grin, he said "And I have only done it once, so we are pretty much inexperienced at it together."

A bit put out that he would lie to her at a moment like this, she pulled her legs together and said "Stop laughing at me."

"Mac." Dick's tone had gone serious as he came out from under the covers and sat down next to her. "Listen to me, please."

He saw the vulnerable expression on her face and knew that this could be an issue for them if they didn't deal with it right away. "Yeah, I have done a lot of things with a lot of girls, but I am not lying about this. Other than this girl at the hotel in LA who was my first, I haven't done this and Sabrina, that girl, she was older then me and offered to teach me. Its the only reason I did it with her."

"You." Mac tried to accept that, but she had heard Dick hitting on girls and lying for years and she tried to believe that he wouldn't..."

"Mac, look at me." Mac's eyes came up and he said "Sabrina taught me what sex was, but when I finally began to do it, I uh, didn't listen to what she had to say about some things. I didn't care about reciprocation. I learned to be very good with my hands so that girls wouldn't want me to do that."

"Why me then?" She asked.

Swallowing his debilitating fear, he said "Because Mac, normally when I have sex with a girl, I don't give a damn if I have it with her again. I want you to like it, to like us together."

Seeing that Mac was still processing that, he decided to get it all out of the way. "I don't want this to be like it is with those girls."

"But Madison and you dated forever..."

"Mac, as long as Madison had access to my credit cards and the ability to tell someone she was dating a top tier 09er, she didn't give a damn. In fact, sex was wham bam, skip the thank you."

Dick really wanted to tell her that sex with Madison wasn't much different than sex with a hooker. He just paid for it at a later date and at the mall but he didn't want Mac to change how she looked at him, now. That sort of reconsidering him that he saw now in her eyes.

Mac's eyes teared up as she said "Why me? Bronson made it pretty clear that he didn't want me, he said that I was broken and that it was too much of a burden to be with me."

"Oh fuck that shit." He said starting to get up and go find the lab rat. "He is lying to you, Mac. I don't think that any one who knows you could feel like that."

"Cassidy did." There it was, the name, the ghost that scared him the most as Mac said "He would kiss me but would barely touch me. He didn't even get erect and I know that it was because of what happened to him but Dick, if someone like he didn't want me, why would you?"

Searing jealousy coursed through Dick as he regained control of his emotions, he saw that she was trying to get up, so he reached out and said "I am not ignoring your question Mac. I am trying to find the words. I want you because you kick my ass at my own games, because you mess with my head and make me laugh instead of plotting how to get revenge. I want you in ways that you have never even thought of having sex yet."

He didn't address the other yet, he was sure that she would run as fast as she could away from him. Besides, he didn't even have the word or the understanding of what was going on in his brain.

"Don't be so sure of that." She said feeling a bit better. Seeing his raised eye brow, she said "The Internet is full of answers if you ask the right questions."

Laughing at the way Mac was staring off to the side, Dick tugged her down so that she was lying next to him and pressed a kiss to her head. "Mac, as badly as I want to make you come screaming my name, I also want to just hold you as you sleep so if you want to wait, tell me now."

"No," She said her eyes now meeting his. "Besides, there are eleven condoms left in the box."

"Then I had better get to work, hadn't I?" He asked and ducked back under the sheet and soon had Mac moaning as he eased her thighs apart and pressed kisses to the soft skin there.

His first lick had her hands in his hair, his second had her legs around his head and by the time of his last she came hard. She was still feeling it when she saw his hand come up from under the sheet, reaching blindly around by the pillows until he found a gold square, then retreat under it.

Reaching down to lift the sheet, Mac's breath caught at the sight of the condom being slipped on then Dick easing up on his knees, his one hand came down next to her arm and the other guiding himself into her waiting wet spot and just thrust forward, making them both called out each others names.

Pressing kisses on the skin he could reach, Dick slid his hand under Mac and guided her until they had found the perfect rhythm of thrusting in and out, Mac's legs wrapped around his hips, her hands gripping his shoulders, her nails leaving perfect crescent shaped marks in his shoulder as he watched her watching them. She was so tight, he found it hard to stay in control.

As they got closer to falling apart, Dick slid his hand between them and teased her clit, making sure she came even as he did. Mac's inner muscles sent him over and he pressed his hips forward, almost wishing that they were bareback, his body desperate to fulfill some primal need that he didn't quite understand.

Slowing down but not stopping at first, Dick soon reluctantly said "I have to deal with things."

Mac watched as he slid the condom off with a simple smooth move and went to the bathroom. Lying there, she couldn't help feeling her lips turn up a bit as she softly laughed.

"You know laughter after what we just did can make a guy wonder if he did something wrong." He said from the doorway.

Mac smiled and then yawned to her embarrassment. "Sorry but you will just have to keep guessing, this is one secret I am keeping."

Leaning down, Dick pressed a kiss to her lips and said "I will be right back."

In the kitchen, he grabbed a Gatorade for himself and recalling that Mac didn't seem to like the taste, checked to find something other than water. Soon he had the orange juice that Logan had bought the day before he had gone to Carmel and carried a glass into the bedroom.

"Here, you are going to need the nutrients." He said as he sat down on the bed beside her. Reaching into his dresser to pull out a T-shirt, he tossed it on the night stand. Pulling her into his arms, his legs on either side of her, he watched her drink the juice and asked if she wanted one of her pain pills.

"No, I would rather go without them." She said her yawn larger this time. Dick stuck his hand out and pulled his T-shirt over and handed it to her. Looking at it, she said "I can't believe I am going to wear this thing."

"What's wrong, its not like you can be sued for false advertising." He leered as he slipped the T-shirt with slogan Orgasm donor over her head. Reaching over, he turned off the light and soon had fallen asleep with Mac tucked in beside him.

By morning they had used four more condoms and Dick for once wanted to skip school for an actual reason other than laziness as he pressed a kiss to Mac's lips.

"I have to go to class, Dick." She said. "I missed my morning class already."

Looking at the clock that said it was almost eleven, he said "Let's have breakfast first."

"Didn't we try to do that once already?" She asked laughing as he growled at her and pulled her back into his arms even as she tried to escape.

Dick held her tight and admitted "I don't want to leave this suite. I want to stay right here and never leave."

"I will run out of clothes if we do that. As it is I had to borrow a shirt from Veronica. Thank god, she has clothes in Logan's room." Mac replied and his hand stopped from where he was trying to undo the buttons on the pale green shirt. Noticing that, Mac asked "What is it?"

"Nothing, there is just some rather creepy about trying to undo buttons on a shirt that belong to Mars." He answered. "Are you sure you can't salvage the shirt you had in your overnight bag?"

"You ripped the buttons, Dick." She reminded him with a laugh as she leaned against him, the crutches a bit of an issue but not really caring as she felt his erection against her stomach.

Resting his head in the crook of her neck, he ran his fingers against her nape, then said "We should go to school."

"Yes we should." She said with sigh. "Besides, we are going to have to leave to get condoms anyhow."

"I guess." He said as he let her convince him to attend class.

* * *

Mac saw that Wallace was staring at her rather intently as they walked towards her dorm room. "What?"

"I saw something... No, I think I saw something but I am not sure how to ask you about it." He said rubbing the back of his neck as they went to her dorm room.

Finding Piz and Parker at it again, Mac looked at the door and said "No towel."

Piz left and Parker apologized saying "Sorry we were making summer plans and I guess it got out of hand."

"Uh, no problem." Mac said unable to meet her eyes as Parker left to go get something to snack on. "Okay Wallace, ask away?"

"Okay, now don't hit me please." He said then asked "Is there something going on between Dick and you?"

"Define the word something?" She asked deciding to practice on Wallace for the conversation she was going to have to have with Veronica. Hopefully Wallace was going to be less explosive than Veronica was sure to be.

"Of a less than moral nature?" He asked.

With a smile as she remembered the last time Dick had gotten her back into bed that morning, she said "Yes."

"Oh god, I was hoping you wouldn't tell me that." He replied, half sure that this was some sort of odd nightmare. "Why?"

"Why what?" She asked.

"Why Dick?" He retorted almost sure that he was going to hear an answer similar to what Veronica had told him when she began dating Logan junior year.

Mac looked at him and said "Dick and I have a lot in common. We both loved and hated Cassidy. We both know how our friends strictly hate him and that they have good reason to do so. It created a bond that had us hating one another for understanding what each other was feeling, but Wallace, there has also been this latent attraction between us that is undeniable."

"Veronica isn't going to like this." He warned sure that he didn't need to warn Mac about that.

"Veronica will have to get used to it." She said in a quietly confident way that had Wallace surprised but getting that this was not some brand new thing but something that had to have been growing between the couple. "Dick and I talked this morning, we aren't sure what exactly this is, how much of it is a deeper emotion than lust and how much of it is keeping Cassidy close. We need to find out, though."

Wallace got it, he didn't like it but he got it as he helped her pack up a small bag and then he stared at it as he said "You are going back to the hotel, aren't you?"

"Yes." She replied then reaching out, hugged him around her crutches then said "It's going to be okay, Wallace."

"It had better be or Veronica will destroy Dick." He warned her. "She is very protective of you after what happened grad night."

TBC

Its just your imagination

You're pregnant.

Don't say a word, the oranges are listening.

The strawberries are jealous of me.

Tell me you love me.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: The bananas start to return at the end.**

**Chapter Five**

Veronica led Logan into his bedroom, pressing kisses to his chest as she unzipped his jeans and pushed him down onto his bed. 

"Veronica, you need to stop." He said sounding torn between amusement, lust and regret. "Something tells me that our plan to get your dad to like me might take a huge detour if I were to get you pregnant."

With a wicked smirk, she knelt in front of him and tugged his jeans down off his knees and ended up getting them stuck on his shoes. "Logan, what I have in mind doesn't usually lead to pregnancy."

His moan got louder then he sat up and tugged gently until she was seated next to him. Seeing her pouting he said "I love you but you are going home as soon as you find your criminal science text book. Your dad wasn't thrilled by this weekend already, so find your book and lets get going."

Watching as Logan stood and rather carefully returned himself to his jeans, she looked around and at first couldn't find text book until she located it within a pile of Logan's.

Grabbing it, she saw the banana and said "I think Dick was looking for something in here, I found the blonde monkey's banana."

"Does it have words on it?" He asked amused at the idea of Mac messing with Dick. He was sure that it was her, because who else was smart enough and vengeful enough to do it.

Then looking at the blond standing there, admitted that maybe there were two people who would do it. Seeing her confused expression, he said "What is it?"

"It says count to ten on one side and on the other, if that doesn't work, twenty." She replied with a shrug. Getting ready to leave, she looked around the suite and said ""Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Logan asked from the doorway, sure that Veronica was playing with him; she had said that she would win and that she would be staying the night. He was sure that this was her latest gambit when the text book plan had failed.

"It sounded like Mac's voice." She said a bit of a wrinkle on her forehead.

"All I hear is Dick's shower." He said with a shrug. "Veronica, your dad has a gun and he is already mad at me. Unless you WANT to have to be Dick's emotional support for the foreseeable future when I go to jail for something illegal that the Sheriff comes up with, you had better get your cute butt downstairs in my truck so that I can take you home."

Veronica and Logan had discussed Dick, he had given her a lot more insight in their friendship and why it worked as well as it did in spite of all the reasons it shouldn't this weekend. She had finally, finally begun to understand it.

She even grudgingly found herself respecting Dick a bit, not much but a bit as she realized that a lot of his later hostility towards her was the result of things that had happened because of her relationship with Duncan Senior year and how Dick had been Logan's sole emotional support.

It didn't completely overcome the insults, his part in her rape and how he was a total ass at times, but it had lessened her anger with him.

Walking slowly back to Logan, a bit put out to have to admit defeat, she was almost close enough to press a kiss and attempt her second attack on his control when they both heard it this time.

Mac's voice, raised in what sounded like a cross between annoyance and amusement. Coming from Dick's bedroom. A bit stunned considering that she had just heard the shower and that she knew there was no way that Mac would EVER shower in a bathroom at the Neptune Grand.

Unable to stop herself, worried that somehow history had repeated herself, that Mac was here because of her ankle and that Dick had done something monumentally stupid, Veronica pushed open the door to Dick's bedroom and rushed it, Logan right behind her as worried as she was.

Stopping suddenly she froze, almost as shaken by what she saw as she had been by what she had found that terrible day almost a year ago.

Mac was sitting on Dick's bed with tangled sheets and pillows askew, the comforter bunched up width wise across the middle for some reason. Mac with braided wet hair and wearing an only Dick T-shirt that said do me a favor, do me was sitting on the bed, rubbing lotion into her skin. 

Looking up, she seemed surprised to see the two of them and then said "Hey, I guess that means you did make it back from Carmel."

"Mac?" Veronica heard Logan's confusion and looking around saw the crutches were near the bed but the rest of the room was a bit off. She had been in Mac's bedroom and while she wasn't Logan's overly obsessive neat, she was not the sort to have her clothes spread out all over the room.

Mac's shirt was hanging off the handle to the closet, her jeans were half sticking out from under the sheets and the part that had caught Veronica's eyes was the lace bra covering the digital clock.

"Hey, Veronica." She said rather calmly. "Be careful mentioning the game to Wallace, I guess he blew a shot at the last minute."

Logan seemed to regain his ability to move because he bent down and scooped up something. Watching him ball up whatever it was tightly into a fist, Veronica heard his question and couldn't figure out why Logan sounded like he was apologizing as he asked "Mac, I am sorry I asked you to keep an eye on Dick, this is all my fault. Where is he?"

"He ran to the store." Mac said.

Logan looked at Veronica, pressed a kiss to her lips, looking like he was in pain before he left without another word after pressing yet another kiss to Veronica's lips promising to fix this.

"How are you feeling?" Veronica asked Mac as she took in the small ace bandage wrapped around her ankle.

"It's fine, I mean, the doctor was mainly worried because this isn't my first sprain, so I have to take it easy for a couple of weeks. Even after the bandage comes off, he wants me to use the crutches if my ankle hurts at all." She said rubbing the leftover lotion on her arms then reached for the crutches.

Veronica quickly handed them to her and they were on their way to the living room as she tried to work up the courage to ask Mac what was going on that she felt confident enough to shower at the Grand but before they had even got there they both heard shouting from the living room.

"YOU JUST HAD TO DO IT, DIDN'T YOU." They heard Logan shouting at someone. "YOU ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL ASSHOLE, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU."

There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh as they came out the door.

Dick was lying half on the rug and his head was against the wall, he looked dazed and Logan was standing over him, his hands clenched in fists as he shouted at Dick.

"I TRUSTED YOU, I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS THE ONE LINE YOU WOULDN'T CROSS, BUT NO, YOU JUST HAD TO DO IT." He snarled.

"Logan, what is going on?" Veronica asked not getting why Dick was staring up at Logan like a scared five year old and why Logan seemed so furious. "What did Dick do."

"Let me get through, Veronica." Mac said quietly and when her friend turned to her seemingly confused as to why she would want to be part of this, she said with a soft smile. "We were going to tell you tomorrow. I was so sure that Logan would understand, that he would get it. Dick didn't, but I guess it was too much to expect. Joke is on me, I thought he would help us tell you."

"Tell me what?" She said bewildered. "Do you know why Logan hit Dick?"

Mac eased around Veronica and moved to the kitchen, grabbed some ice and put it in a ice bucket bag and then clumped over to where Logan was staring at Dick with absolute rage in his eyes. Moving around him, Mac went to kneel but Dick sat up and tried to stop her. "It's fine, Mac."

"No, it isn't. I was so sure that you were wrong. I can't believe it." She said her eyes now on Logan. "He thought you would react like this, that you would be angry but me, I thought that no, Logan would get if. If anyone would, it would be you. Clearly I was wrong. So much for this friendship going both ways."

Veronica didn't get what was going on, but Logan seemed to be even angrier after Mac's words but not at her friend. His eyes were now icy as he looked at Dick, and said "Get out."

"No." Mac ordered Dick when with pain in his eyes he went to obey Logan, then looking at Logan said "Go take a walk until you can come back and listen rationally because we aren't leaving until we get this straightened out. You two have been through way too much to be fighting over this."

Veronica saw Logan's eyes soften as he looked at Mac and said "Mac, you don't get it, he is only going to..."

"Logan, what was it you said to Dick, junior year. He told me about it when we were discussing this earlier. Oh, I remember something about how if he has a problem with it to leave. About being dead to you."

She saw Logan's confusion but she didn't care as she looked at Dick and said "Logan, Go. Now."

Veronica saw the pain in Logan's eyes as he looked at Mac, then turned to Dick. "When you do what you are going to do, I am going to stand back watch with glee as Veronica destroys you. YOU WENT TOO FAR THIS TIME."

"Logan?" Veronica saw him nod and hold up his hand to stave off her approach. "Will someone please tell me what is going on here?"

Logan didn't say another word, just took out his phone, tossed it on the console and walked out the door.

"Dick, what is going on here? Mac?" Veronica saw that neither of them were paying any attention to her. Mac was checking over Dick's head for lumps and Dick was making a self deprecating comment about at least it wouldn't damage his brain.

When he stood, Veronica saw the red mark on his jaw line and the cut on his lip as well as that he had a black eye. There was the sound of a knock on the door and when they didn't answer another one.

"Hotel Security." The man knocked again and this time, Dick moved towards the door holding ice on his face. "We were called about a disturbance."

"Uh, sorry dude. We got a little wild playing video games and my roommate kept insisting that Princess Peach would be hotter but I argued with him and said that it was Aikira." He said pretending he didn't have the start of a black eye and a fat lip.

"Do we need to call the police."

"Nah, not unless you want to. Seriously, all they will do is tell us to settle down and I guess you are already doing that." He said playing it off and when the man had left, Dick softly shut the door and then rested his head against it.

"Mac?" Veronica said her friends' name and she looked at her as if startled to find her still there. "Why is Logan out taking a walk?"

"Dick, what did Logan say? Before you two came back through the door?" Mac asked Dick.

"He found this in my room, on the floor." Dick said handing Mac the gold foiled condom wrapper. "I tried to tell him it wasn't what he thought but he just lost it."

"Logan thought that Mac and you? Why didn't you two just tell him it wasn't true?" Veronica asked.

"That we..." Mac's phone rang and there was an awful moment where Dick wanted to just scream but before he could, Mac picked her phone off the counter and answered it. "Thanks, Tina."

"Tina from the reception desk, that Tina?" Veronica asked confused as to what the heck was going on. Logan was overreacting and she was sure that when he thought about it, he would realize he was wrong.

"Yes, she just called to tell me that Logan left the hotel." Mac said. "She said he was with your dad."

Veronica went for the door and Mac stopped her then said "Veronica, it's okay. I uh, your dad was already here because of the Simmon's case. I talked to him earlier this evening."

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Veronica snapped as she looked between the two of them. "Just spit it out."

"I will leave you two alone." Dick said knowing he had to go find Logan. It was probably going to be ugly but he needed to clear the air.

Mac looked at Veronica and edged around her to the sofa. "Please sit down."

"I don't get it, why would Logan think that Dick and you, I mean, yeah the condom is suspicious but knowing Dick it was probably there from weeks ago." Veronica replied.

"Veronica, hush." Mac said and seeing Veronica do just that, she said "It wasn't from weeks ago. Logan was right, well sort of."

"That doesn't make sense, I mean, you are too smart to..." Veronica trailed off and then said "He has been such an asshole to you."

Mac looked at Veronica and said "Worse than Logan was to you?"

Veronica gave a heavy sigh, then said "Okay, so it doesn't compare but Mac,.. I guess what I am I trying to ask is why?"

Mac sat back and told her what she had told Wallace. "Dick and I have a lot in common, Veronica. We also have a lot of things that are a mess between us but we both  
hated and both loved Cassidy."

"I get that and I know that with Dick, you can remember the boy you knew, the boy who he showed to you." Veronica said feeling sick to her stomach at discussing Beaver.

"Yes and no. Veronica, I compartmentalize him. In way I see Cassidy as the sweet unsure boy who never fit in and Beaver as the killer and rapist and who did all sort of terrible things. I needed that at first to make sense of things. Dick has a similar mechanism, but for him he sorts them out as the little boy he was close to and then older Beaver, the boy who he bullied. The boy who grew up into the murderer."

Veronica looked at her and said "Mac, just because you can agree on that with Dick doesn't mean you have to..."

"Let me finish, please?" Mac asked. "I know we have avoided discussing this but I think we have to. For both of our sakes. Veronica, I know that you hate him and god when I think about what he did to you, I want to resurrect him to destroy him."

Veronica nodded and then Mac continued "The thing is, Beaver's death, it destroyed me because of what happened in that hotel room. He was not an emotionally healthy person and he ruined me before he killed himself. I said he took everything that night and he did, but the thing that he took that did the most damage wasn't something you could touch but my ability to trust. Not only others but also my judgment."

Mac went quiet then said "Did you know that Lamb made Dick identify Beaver?"

"What?!" Veronica's shock had Mac nodding silently. "What about his mom?"

"Bettina Casablancas was in Europe at the time. Dick was eighteen and Lamb decided that since he was legally an adult, he could do it." Mac said with a shiver. "Then for shits and giggles, he interrogated him for the rest of the night Dick to see if he knew what his brother had done. Refused to give him his phone call and then mocked him for crying over his brother's death."

Veronica felt sick as she realized she had never thought past the learning of the truth and finding out her dad was alive. She had never thought about that part of the process and if she had she would have thought that Beaver's parents would have done the ID-ing, but with Dick Sr on the lamb and his mom gone, she guess it had to have fallen to Dick.

"He had to make final arrangements, he had to pick up the ashes, Veronica. The way Dick was at the beginning of semester, I can't help thinking that maybe, just maybe that he gets a free pass." Mac said in a cold tone. "Lamb should be glad he is dead."

"I don't think Logan knows about any of this." Veronica said quietly. "If he does, he didn't tell me."

"I doubt that Dick told him." Mac said. "He admitted to being a mess when it comes to Logan because while Logan was being emotionally supportive of you, he didn't once call Dick this summer."

"Wait, yes he did." Veronica said then closing her eyes said "Bettina swore she was giving Dick the messages."

"Bitch." Mac said sadly then added "Dick and I the first time we saw each other this fall, we had the same reaction. We hated knowing that we both could see we were broken and then there is something else."

Veronica waited and Mac tried to find the words and finally just said it. "The last few months, since that big blow out between Logan and yourself over Mercer and the rape case. I saw him with Logan one night, just talking him down, just being the voice of reason and it did something. It touched something and something I felt ages ago came back. It didn't change anything huge but I couldn't deny that some part of me was different."

Gulping, Veronica said "You had a crush or something on Dick? In the past?"

"No." Mac said with an easy laugh. "If it had been that, his behavior in high school and then later on would had killed it. It was something different, something at fifteen you don't really get. Because how can you want to punch someone in the face and also want to have sex with them."

"Oh, I do get that." Veronica said with a knowing smirk. "Logan and I were arguing a few years ago and I had the same reaction."

"We don't know what is going on, but we both know that we have to figure it out or we will have regrets." Mac said quietly. "Veronica, we have both been feeling it but the trip to the museum, it bonded us. We talked about a whole heck of a lot of things and I saw a side of Dick that was different, less abrasive and less, less Dickish."

"Here I was thinking it was some sort of Hero/savior complex thing going on." Veronica said trying to be supportive but still not getting it even as she worried about Logan.

"Not even close though, he did pick me up and carry me off a couple of times this weekend. Was so thinking I should have done a Debra Winger in an Officer and a Gentleman sort of swoon." Mac replied with a blush. "Veronica, I know that Dick has done some shitty things in his life, but please try for me."

The blond looked at Mac and said "Oddly enough, Rocky said the same thing to me this weekend in Carmel. I think that is why he overreacted tonight."

"Go, find Logan." Mac said. "I would ride shotgun, but I am not up to the walking. Just call me and let me know if you find him. Promise?"

"Promise." Veronica stood and was on her way to the door when she looked back to see Mac was staring at her hands and called out "Oh, and when we get a chance, I so want details."

"Of what?" Mac asked.

"The condition of that bedroom speaks for itself." Veronica replied with an impish smirk on her face.

* * *

Veronica was about to enter her dad's office when she saw Norris Clayton entering the building. "Hey Norris."

"Oh hey, Veronica." The former bully walked over to where she was and said "Are you looking for your dad?"

"Yes." She was surprised to see he was carrying a badge that said he was working for the Balboa County police department. "Do you know where he is?"

"He left here with Logan Echolls. They were carrying coffee and talking about getting donuts." He replied then said "I have to get to work, your dad hired me to be a dispatcher while I am attending college."

When Norris had gone to the call center, Veronica went to Logan's car and drove to her dad's favorite donut shop. Sure enough, she could see Logan and her dad talking. Sitting in the Range Rover watching as they talked cordially and how her dad seemed to be making Logan open up, she hesitated and left, thinking that this might do more to bond them than if she had kept dragging him over to dinners.

Heading towards the Grand, she saw Dick's car at Dog Beach and was sure that he was looking for Logan. Taking out her phone, she dialed his number and when he answered said "Where are you?"

"Dog Beach."

"Where at the Beach?" She asked.

"Down by the pier but he isn't here, Ronnie." He said sounding dejected.

"Wait for me, there." She ordered and hung up her phone. Walking down the beach, she saw Dick sitting in the sand watching the waves in the moonlight.

"Just so that you know, if you are going to kill me, at least wait a week, okay?" He said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Don't tell Mac." He warned then admitted with a flush "I uh, sort of bought tickets for a exhibit this weekend and I really want to see Mac's face when she sees the illuminated books."

Veronica wanted to laugh but didn't as she asked "Why would I want to kill you, I mean unless Logan was right in what your motivations are with Mac."

"They aren't." He said sounding hurt. They sat there the waves coming in, neither one saying a word then he said "He wanted us to believe he wasn't up to shit with you, that what he felt was real, but yet, he didn't believe me. He just accused me and hit me."

Veronica felt bad, she could hear the pain in Dick's voice and while she wanted to tell him all that Logan had said to her this weekend about Dick, she didn't have the words.

"I thought you would be the one overreacting and then listening but like a thousand years from now. I didn't think he would be happy but I didn't expect him to hit me." Dick said. "I should call Mac, let her know that I am okay."

"I sent her a text on the way to meet you." Veronica said then without any ability to recall the words in, she said "Mac said that the two of you are just trying to figure it out."

"Yeah." He said then as if compelled stated "You know, I didn't get it, at least not then. Why if Logan had had feelings for you back then he was such an ass. Why he led the charge to make you miserable, but I got it this fall. I stood at Mac's door and she saw right through me and I wanted to hurt her."

Seeing her eyes on him, he said "I told her that Beaver didn't care about her, that she was his beard, but it wasn't true. I just hated her and wanted her all at the same time. I hated her for it."

There was silence then he looked at her with a wry smile and said "Okay, I was waiting to be tasered."

"Not tonight, Dick." She said calmly.

"It's just, it was wrong, I mean, I was wrong and I know b-but I hated both Beaver and her when they were together. Now, I mean, I haven't even told Mac why." He said.

"Want to tell me?" She asked looking at the profile of the blond in front of her. Seeing him flushing she said "What is it?"

"You promise not to taser me?" He asked.

Veronica reached into her bag and handed over the taser. "That make you feel better."

"Not really but I guess I should tell you." He said then his face got redder as he admitted "I used to spank it off to images from Ghost World when I hated that stupid movie but I didn't get why. Then one day Cole said something about Mac looking a bit like the girl in the movie. Du-uh, one of the guys said that he used to uh, rub one out to the idea of her as a character in the movie."

A bit bemused, Veronica said "Uh, Dick. Remember, friends with Lilly. I recall that Duncan and she loved that movie. A bit creeped out but don't cover for my ex, okay?"

"Okay. Well I remember wanting to slap Duncan and I avoided him for months afterward, which I guess is a good thing because later that year is when he began avoiding Logan and dating you." Dick said.

"I know that I hurt Logan last year. I didn't get it, Dick. I just thought that I was a Lilly replacement for Logan. Some part of me thought it wasn't like he really cared for me."

"Man, I thought you were a detective Ronnie." Dick said sounding disgusted.

"I am and I was blind." She replied. "I don't regret what happened with Duncan, mainly because I needed that closure, to accept that I wasn't in the wrong when he dumped me without telling me why. I do regret that I did what I did to Logan. I was a mess. Dating one boy and wanting another. Duncan never knew and I do regret that I didn't end things with him before he left by telling him the truth about my feelings. That I never told him how much I regretted hurting Logan."

"I think Duncan wouldn't have left, Ronnie. I think deep down he knew and that he was jealous of Logan and you." Dick said then looking at her realized something. "What happened between Duncan and you? That you needed closure?"

"Nothing I want to talk about." She said firmly but then added "I was a mess when we found out the truth and I learned that I really had been raped the night of Shelly's party."

"I know that sorry will never mean anything to you, but I am Veronica. Good, I was such an ass. I-."

"I get it, I do. Dick, no matter what happened before, your brother made the choice to rape me. Beaver did that, not you." She replied. "So many things led up to that night and you are to blame for part of them but the actual rape, no, that is on him." She said. "Now off such heavy topics, okay. Stop avoiding."

"Okay but it isn't pretty." Dick warned then told her. "I uh..."

"Got off on the idea of Mac doing whatever the girl in that move did. I got it." Veronica replied wanting to move the topic along.

"It's why I nicknamed her Ghost World. No one knew and I wanted to keep it that way." He said. "In my fantasies, she was this girl who didn't want anything from me, this girl who I had never spoken to who just... After a while it was different when she was the spank fest girl."

"Then she dated Beaver and I put her out of my mind. I wasn't happy about it but she made him happy and I hated and loved her for that." He said with a sigh. "I hated him for being able to be honest about who he was dating and who he was with people."

"You could have been that way if you tried." She pointed out.

"No, see I-when mom left, When she remarried, I swore I was never going to let anyone get that close again. Veronica. I didn't let anyone in, and started boxing Beaver out." He said. "Beaver's death and everything coming out proved that not letting anyone in didn't prevent things from hurting you anyhow. It was like there was this wall protecting me from feeling things and it crashed all of the sudden and I felt EVERYTHING."

"I mean everything that I tried to suppress." He said wiping the tear trying to fall onto his cheek. "Then to make matters worse, I kept running into Mac and I would see her with Beaver and they would be happy in my head. None of this was real, this fantasy I had was and I hated her for what was in my head."

"Why?" She asked noting the nearby Logan shaped shadow and thinking maybe just maybe this would help them fix things.

Dick was quiet and Veronica saw Logan growing tense then he said "I finally faced that I wanted her. I kept trying to just ignore it, to drink it away, to screw it away with random girls but she was there, like this clawing pain in my stomach. It was fine until I saw her then it was this raging mess of attraction."

"I would say stuff knowing that Mac would get angry but there would be emotions, any emotions were better than indifference." He said. "I guess some part of me, wanted her to want me but at the same time, the usual tricks of seeing her with Beaver didn't work. Even the mental image of seeing Beaver looking not much better than meat loaf on that metal slab didn't help. I felt guilty about it for so long."

Veronica other than not being able to eat meat loaf for a while after this was beginning to understand. "What happened this weekend?"

"It wasn't this weekend." He said then told her the rest. "It has been building for a while but then someone was messing with my mind and I just began to lose it. She and I went to that museum and it tore even more of that wall down."

"The thing with the biker and then her brother's science fair and I just walked into the penthouse after driving Ryan home and she was in my bed and I kept thinking that was where she belonged every night then she confessed to something and then the next thing I knew was we were... But we weren't just, you know, we were talking too." He said stopping and starting so the conversation was hard to follow a bit but then Veronica got it.

"What happens now, Dick?" She asked.

"I am not sure. I guess I had better find a new place to live because I am not sure that even if things work out with Logan, I can forgive him but this hurt, too much." He said sadly. "I know that he doesn't know this stuff but I guess I thought he knew me better than that."

"The problem is that he spent part of this weekend trying to get me to realize how he sees you." Veronica said. "I think he was afraid that you would prove him wrong."

"If this is how he sees me, then maybe I need to find new friends." Dick admitted. Veronica saw the misery on his face and began to realize that this fight had broken the childhood bond of the two men and felt sick at that realization.

"Veronica, I don't even know what the things I am feeling mean. I am sure that at some point me being me, I am going to hurt Mac. I tried to avoid this, I did but it is too big. Too everything. I am going work very hard not to but I know that if I have someone expecting me to fail, I will live up to that expectation. I don't know how not to."

"Dick, talk to Logan, please?" She asked shaking her head at being the one to fix things between them when several days earlier she had out right asked Logan why he had put up with Dick for so long.

"I have to go get Mac and drive her back to her dorm." He said brushing the sand off his rear then looking at Veronica added "I can't deny that I like Mac in a biblical way but I tried not to. I won't walk away, If I did, it would be as if I was refrozen in that concrete again."

With that he handed her her taser walked away and was a few steps up the beach when he saw Logan standing there, his hands clenched in fists.

Walking past him without a word, he was almost to the car when he heard Logan behind him. "Don't."

"Dick."

"No, just don't." Dick whirled and looking at Logan said "I already got a room at that new hotel down near the bridge. I am just going to get Mac and will pick up my stuff later this week."

"Don't go." Logan said quietly. "Dick, please just listen to me."

"Not now Logan. Tomorrow maybe but not tonight." He said and with that he got behind the wheel of his car and drove off.

Logan looked at Veronica and said "Your dad told me I was an ass."

"Good for him." Veronica replied as she walked over to hug him then said "I think he is in love with Mac."

"Your dad said the same thing." Logan replied. "I know I was an idiot, its just talking over the past this weekend, it brought up my own idiocy and I should have known better. I knew Mac slept in his room the other night. She told me but some part of me had this sinking feeling when I saw that condom of losing you and losing Mac because of another guy messing with her."

"Instead you might lose Dick." She warned him.

Sliding his hands through hers, he admitted "I think I sort of knew something about this, when you dad questioned me, I realized it wasn't a compete surprise. I need to talk to him, tell him why I reacted the way I did."

Veronica led him to his car but she drove back to the hotel, watching as Logan stared out the window at the passing scenery without really seeing it. In the parking garage, she saw that Dick's car was there but his truck wasn't.

In the suite, there was a note written to Veronica from Mac attached to a letter sealed in an envelope for Logan. Veronica checked Dick's room and to her surprise found his books gone as well.

Reading Mac's note, her eyes went wide as she saw that Mac was going with Dick to the new hotel and that she wanted Veronica to call her in the morning.

Logan sat down on the sofa, his mind reeling at the idea he had hit Dick and how badly he had overreacted to what was going on. Even worse that Dick seemed not to hate him but more like wanted nothing to do with him.

"Logan, Mac wrote you a note." Veronica handed it to him and when he didn't open it, she said "It might offer an explanation that you need to read."

"Veronica, they don't owe me any explanations." He said sadly then looking at her said "What else did Dick tell you?"

"It's not what Dick said that you need to hear." Veronica replied then tapping the note from Mac said "Read it, please."

Reluctantly Logan did as requested and midway, he crushed the letter and looked at her. "Did you know that what Lamb did?"

"Not until Mac told me tonight." She said shaking her head. "God, it explains so much about Dick's behavior this year."

When Logan had finished he said "She promised to stay with him tonight then suggested that I meet him at the beach in the morning. That he was going to go surfing if she had to push him onto his board."

* * *

Dick saw Logan paddling out to where was just sitting on his board. "I am only here because Mac asked me to hear you out."

Logan didn't say anything as they surfed a few waves then when Dick waded in and stuck his board in the sand, Logan followed and looking at him said "I am sorry."

"I know." Dick replied but not looking at Logan. "Why?"

"It's going to sound stupid." Logan warned. "When Veronica and I found Mac, in that hotel room. I vowed to protect her. It was like you were sleeping with my sister. Heck no I don't think I would have been that protective it if had been Trina."

Dick looked at him then rubbing his jaw said "I guess I can get that but Logan, you accused me of some shitty stuff and considering your history with Veronica. You don't get to do that."

"I just walked into your room and it was a mess, there were torn panties under the bed, Dick beside the condom."

"Oh." Dick said slightly embarrassed then looking at Logan said "To be fair, it was Mac who tore them."

"Why?" Logan asked then admitted to himself that really he didn't want the answer but knowing he had to listen.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Dick said in a knowing tone. "Mac and I were being honest about something. She sort of listened to me uh, rubbing one out one morning and when I found out...she admitted to something and I wanted to see the proof. I was joking but she said since I hadn't gotten to see her, I could have the proof."

Logan didn't want to think of Mac having sex like that, Looking at Dick he admitted it. "Crossing into territory I don't want to know about. I just need to know one thing. How long?"

"The feelings?" Logan nodded. "Since about the Winter Carnival. I didn't get why they were there, I kept thinking it was just lust. That I was just hot for her."

"And."

"Logan, its different. I mean, I want her, but we have conversations too. I like seeing her in my T-shirts, her nose scrunched up. Last night she called to give me a hard time about some of them in my dresser. Its why I was returning to the room and didn't even notice you at first."

"Do you love her?"

"I don't know. I like her, I like being with her, I like a lot of different things. I love how she moans my name and how she blushes. I like how she laughs in spite of herself at my jokes." He admitted.

Logan got it, he did and he knew that while things were smoothed over they weren't back to normal for them. "Don't move out."

"I think I still should." Logan looked at Dick who was gathering his board.

"I am sorry I was an ass." Logan said. "I just don't want to lose you, Dick. I don't want to lose any of us."

"You won't. I am angry still but those aren't the only reasons I am thinking on moving out." He admitted. "Mac shouldn't have to deal with the Grand."

"What do you mean?"

Dick looked at Logan and said "Mac still has feelings for Beaver. I accepted it, its sort of like I am sure you have feelings for Lilly. You know, Unfinished business. I don't want her to have to deal with the pain and I deep down hate thinking of her alone in that room, loving my little brother."

"Have you talked to her about her feelings for Beaver?" Logan asked because Mac and he had and he got the feeling that Dick didn't have a clear picture of the situation.

"No, I can't. I can't hear her telling me that. Or worse lying to me out of pity." Dick replied.

"Dick, talk to her." He said. "And my feelings for Lilly aren't what you think. It's more regret about how things ended for her. That I didn't save her. I put a cap on the relationship that day before she died. I hate that it was my father and that she met him through me. Nothing more."

"It's different though, Logan." He replied.

"Not really. Mac and I have talked about this, Dick." He said then added "You said reasons, that implies that there is more than one."

Flushing a bit, Dick said "You feel protective of Mac and, I don't think you want to hear us."

"Hear you?" He asked. "Oh, hear you, hear you! I get it."

"Mac's loud sometimes." Dick admitted. "I kind of like it when she tries not to be and I sort of deliberately make her loud."

Chuckling, Logan said "You have heard Ronnie enough to deserve to get even."

Shuddering Dick looked at him and said "True."

"Talk to Mac about, okay. Before making any decisions. Besides, school is out in a month." Logan said.

* * *

At the suite, Veronica looked at the phone on the console and tried to figure out who it belonged to. Hearing sounds coming from Dick's room, she entered it still wearing her PJ's.

"Mac?"

"Hey." Mac flushed then admitted "I uh, forgot my books last night."

"How's Dick this morning?" She asked as she looked around the still trashed room. "Logan spent most of last night a wreck."

"He slept but only because I told him I couldn't sleep if he didn't." She admitted. "He is a wreck too."

Veronica suddenly laughed.

"What?" Mac asked. She looked at Veronica who sat on the bed and was now laughing out loud. "Veronica?"

"I uh, I wonder..." She sounded distracted and went to stand.

"Veronica Mars, spill."

"Last year, Duncan had this list that the 09ers were doing. A sort of least likely pairs thing. Everyone who put money in it got to chose unlikely couples. There were odds and everything." She said.

"Okay." Mac didn't get what that had to do with anything at first. "Wait, someone put Dick and myself down?"

Veronica gave a wicked smirk. "Yes, Logan. I saw his sitting on the table here in the suite. I sort of changed several of his answers. "You have to get five of the couples. Anyhow, Logan and myself were paired and I didn't want him to win. I was sort of angry for his marking the two of us."

"So you changed it somehow?"

"Only the less obvious ones. Like from Duncan and you to Dick and you." Veronica said with a smirk. "Madison and Weevil, I think I paired Wallace with Gia Goodman. Casey with Seth Rafter. Anyhow, you needed a trifecta to get part of the put. I was thinking, we have two of the three pairs. All we need to do is get Wallace to date Gia."

"Here I thought Wallace was your best friend." Mac said laughing at the thought of Wallace dating the talkative brunette.

Veronica looked at Mac and got that she was trying but it was clear from her laughter that she wasn't completely relaxed. "I get it you know."

"Get what?" Mac said.

"Dick and you. You certainly are the least likely couple." Veronica replied. "You are studious, I don't think he opens a book unless cajoled. He is loud and boisterous, you are quiet and peaceful."

"We also have a lot in common, if you look under the surface, Veronica. He hides a lot of who he really is under this shield of indifference because of his Mom leaving Beaver and him." She said. "Then there is the chemistry, Veronica."

"From the shape of this room, I would guess it was pretty good." She replied with a cheeky grin. Mac seemed to suddenly see it and quickly gathered her jeans and bra and then saw the shirt she had been wearing. Looking under the bed, she found her panties and flushed as she pulled them out and stuffed them into her duffel bag. "So, is he as good as he thinks?"

"Is Logan?" Mac asked with a raised eye brow.

"Yes and sometimes he is even better." Veronica admitted crossing her arms and staring dreamily off into the distance. "The things that boy can do with words, alone."

Mac leaned over and said "Dick almost had me orgasming with words."

Veronica looked at her and said "Seriously?"

"Uh huh, its why I ended up in his bed that very first time. Then yesterday, I had something planned but instead he convinced me that we wouldn't get caught on the balcony. All he did is tell me a story and I did the rest." Mac replied then showed her the panties. "I did this myself."

Veronica started to tell her that it was more than she wanted to know but her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Get over to Pi Sig, we have a huge problem."

"Chip, hello, how are you you arrogant cretin. Why I am fine, Veronica, How are you. Well Chip, now that you have asked. I am perfectly fine and haven't lost any of my faculties, so why the heck would I EVER take orders from you."

There was silence and then she went to hang up the phone but before she could she heard "I will pay you a two hundred and fifty dollars to just come here and document this."

"What have you done now, Chip?"

"Bananas, there are talking bananas all over the frat house." He said then admitted "They know our secrets, Mars. You have to help us."

TBC

.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Someone questioned why I would have Logan be the person upset. Veronica is the more obvious choice but with Logan, I felt there would be so many more layers to it. His need to be protective of Mac after his mother, Lilly and even Trina getting beaten up by her boyfriend has him overreacting. Remember, he saw her in that hotel room; it's probably burned into his memory. 

Add that to his having spent the weekend trying to convince Veronica that Dick was a good guy, being in a good place with the blond and fearful that if things don't work out with Dick and Mac it could hurt Veronica and him, plus the guilt of thinking he wanted Mac to keep an eye on Dick would be powerful.

He also knows Dick's history with girls, better than Veronica does. That Dick doesn't do relationships. I had them walking into the facts cold, and then he finds torn underwear and a condom on the floor in Dick's room, to me that would send him over the edge. I hope this helps with any questions.

Now to the good part, the angst part of the story is done. We now get the good stuff including bananas, pears, apples and time travel. Just kidding about the time travel through if you see a blue police box, let me know."

Chapter Six

Dick and Logan entered the elevator both trying to fix the damage they did to their relationship the night before. Logan scared because he had just realized that he had reacted with his fists, not words. Dick knowing that Veronica was upstairs and that Mac had come over to talk to the blond.

He was afraid that their relationship was going to hurt her friendship with Veronica because last night have to have been an aberration, he knew at some point, she was going to come to him, threaten him and make it clear that he wasn't good enough for Mac.

Not that he already didn't know that. Dick was sure that everyone knew that, even Mac. Yet, for some reason she had decided to take a chance with him.

Exiting the elevator, they were still feeling awkward as they entered the suite to the sound of silence.

There was then a clump, clump and Mac was standing in the doorway to Dick's bedroom. Logan saw the soft expression come into Dick's eyes and sighed as he realized that his friend really was a goner when it came to Mac.

Backing up, thinking maybe Veronica was still asleep, he went in to awaken her for school only to see that she was gone and that the bed was made.

Going back to the living room, he went to ask Mac if she had been there when Mac arrived but at the doorway of Dick's bedroom, he stopped. Dick was hugging Mac, a miserable expression on his face even as she held him around his waist.

When Mac pulled him down a bit and pressed a kiss to Dick's lips, he saw Dick give her a smile then mutter. "I will be fine. I just need to give it some time, Mac."

"I just thought for sure that he would be on your side." She said sounding upset.

"It's more like I seduced his innocent baby sister than anything else." Dick admitted. Seeing her surprise he said "I get it, I do."

"You may but I don't." She told him then resting her head against his chest said "Are you staying?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "I know that showering here is going to be a problem for you and frankly, with summer coming, I don't want to be apart that much."

"Dick." There was amusement in her voice as she looked at him. "I am moving back home for the summer. Nights spent here will be rare; you do realize that don't you?"

Groaning he said "How many days until the fall semester?"

Logan couldn't help it; he laughed. Seeing them turning, he said "I never ever thought that there would be a day that Dick would be looking forward to the return of school in the fall."

"At least with Veronica, her dad travels so she can slip over here." Dick said then with an uncertain expression looked at Mac and said "Unless you don't want to."

"I do." She said then looking at Logan said "I am surprised you aren't with Veronica. She was going to call you."

"Call me what?" He said. "Last night it was jackass."

"I was mentally calling you worse." Mac said then Dick's phone rang.

He reached for it on the night stand. "Fourteen missed calls."

"Yeah, I think something is going on at the frat house. Your mates have been blowing your phone up all morning." Mac said trying not to smile. Blackmail victims weren't supposed to be happy about being coerced to do things.

"Oh, I should go find out what it is about." He said with a wink and a kiss pressed to Mac's forehead. "Besides, don't you have a class to get to this morning?"

Grabbing her messenger bag, she looked at Logan and said "Meet me at the Beach after class, if you are free."

"Okay. Mac, how about I give you a ride." He said hopefully.

Seeing Dick tense up, Logan said "I am not going to try and talk her out of dating you, Dick. I just need to apologize and unless you are intending on going to class in your wet suit, you might need to shower."

"What about your classes?" Mac asked him.

"I only have sociology and frankly I am skipping it again. I have a free pass to skip for another week due to that mess up with the experiment." He said.

"It's fine with me." Mac told Dick then looking down at his body encases in the black wet suit said "Go shower. I will see you at lunch."

"Fine but keep your hands off my banana." Dick ordered.

"Here I thought you liked it when I had my uh hands on your banana." Mac replied with a smirk only to see Logan pretending to gag. "Oh get over it. It's not like I haven't heard Veronica and you."

"Fine, but please, let's let the banana jokes go." He said. He had tried to eat one that weekend and had been unable to do so because of the mental images that had been put into his mind when Dick had finally explained what had been on the first banana.

Logan had finally taken out a knife and cut the banana into pieces and ate it. He still got chills from the idea that he was letting words on fruit freak him out.

* * *

Veronica had ignored Chip's call and had gone to take breakfast to her dad in thanks for the help with Logan the night before and was now driving toward campus when she saw the chaos on Greek row. Pulling to a stop, she saw one of the Thetas waving her down. "Hey, Mars. You have got to head over to Pi Sig. They are really losing it over there."

"Why would I care?" She asked.

"Well, I know you aren't a big fan of Nish but she is over there claiming credit for something and is demanding again that the Greek's be tossed off campus." Taffy, Tassy, something like that was telling her.

Veronica didn't want to go, she wasn't sure what exactly was going on and she really didn't care but for the amusement of it, drove by the Pi Sigma house. Looking around the outside of the house there was clear evidence of some sort of disaster.

Chairs were on the lawn, instead of inside where they belonged, frat boys were milling around half naked looking confused and angry and even some seemed afraid. When she was greeted with smiles and looked of relief, Veronica shrugged it off, certain that she was wrong.

Entering, she saw Chip Diller was standing in the middle of the main room, trying to calm his frat brothers down. They were wandering around in various states of dress, one guy with shaving cream on half his face. Most of the brothers seemed in even worse shape than the four or five outside on the porch.

Nish was standing toe to toe with Chip, shouting at him while he was sending out a text.

Looking around for someone relatively calm, Veronica saw that several of the inmates were holding bananas and others were pacing back and forth. One guy was sitting on the stairs crying, rocking back and forth as he said that he couldn't fail, that he just couldn't fail that his parents would kill him.

She was about to demand answers when Dick walked into the frat house carrying a bag. She could see the black and blue marks on his jaw and how his left eye was pretty swollen, at least his lip didn't look bad, she had been sure that the puffiness would go down.

Shaking her head when she realized she saw Dick as a center of calm in a clearly overwrought group of guys, she moved his way just as several of his frat brothers called out his name.

He was trying to be heard about the fray and getting nowhere so Dick put his fingers to his lips and whistled through them. "Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Dudes, it is way too early in the morning for this shit."

"What happened to you?" He was asked a few times but Dick ignored it, moved towards the stairs, stopping when he saw a frat brother bawling on them. "Damn, what is up with you, Rick?"

He only cried more but Chip was wading through the crowd and had a look of relief on his face when he saw Veronica with Dick. "Thank god. Man, I am happy to see you. I am sorry I ever doubted you man. The banana bandit struck, this time at the whole house. I think that you were a test subject. Once he saw that he or she had you nuts, they went after the whole house."

"Really?" Dick said. "Are you sure you aren't drunk?"

Chip had already turned to Veronica and asked her to photograph the bananas, thrusting a large amount of money in her hands. "Here, it's almost four hundred dollars."

"I will pay Ronnie." Dick said and he saw her turn to look at him with a sharp expression on her face. "After all, I was the first victim of this uh, banana bandit."

Veronica gave Chip back the money and said "I only came for the entertainment, I have no intention of looking into this."

"Don't, just photograph the proof, that is all we need." Chip replied with a glare at Nish. "I know who is doing it."

"Yeah like Nish knew, just knew it was a Pi Sig committing the rapes." Dick said glaring at Chip. "Seriously, you are jumping to conclusions. Now, are you telling that there isn't a single camera in this frat house that we have to bribe someone who doesn't want to be here to take the photos."

"No, but-."

"Oh give me the damn bananas." Dick said pulling out his cell phone. "Wait, you better tell me how each of you found them and what happened next."

Veronica's eyes narrowed; there was something very wrong here. It was almost as if Dick didn't want her to be involved. She decided to stick around and watch even more so when she saw the small smirk he tried to hide when one of his frat brothers showed up with a video camera for him to record the interviews.

When each of his house mates had come forward and told their story, she watched as he removed the small SD card and carefully put it in his wallet pocket then said "I have class in ten minutes. Look, just get rid of the bananas. I am sure that this is just a joke."

"What about Nish? I know she was behind this." Chip protested. He looked at her and Veronica saw he wanted to demand she find out answers for him but it was also clear that he seemed to know she wouldn't help him.

Yet the hopeful way he looked at Dick had her getting it. Chip figured that since she had helped Dick before, she would do it again and didn't want to chance that his interference would stop her from doing so.

Dick went upstairs, saying he would be right back so Veronica stuck around, certain that she was missing something because Dick didn't seen very upset about someone messing with his house mates. It was more like he was gleeful at being proven right.

On the way across campus, Dick and she didn't say a word, until he ducked entered the hall where her class was. "Veronica, thanks."

"For what?" She asked.

"Not tasering my ass last night." He replied with a quiet nod then leaving went to wherever he was going.

"Superfly." Turning, Veronica was hugged by Wallace. "We so need to talk. You have missed a lot for only being gone five days."

"Like my best girl friend dating Dick, yeah. I know." She said and saw that he wasn't surprised. "Mac told you?"

"Yup." He said with a nod. "Oddly enough, I uh, get it."

"Me too." She admitted and seeing his shock said "Logan over reacted and one of us had to be the sane and calm one."

"Really, Logan? Why?" Wallace asked as they walked towards her criminal sciences class.

"Its a long story, maybe we can catch up over lunch?" She asked.

"Yeah and remind me to tell you about what Parker and Piz have been up to. If anyone needs an ass kicking in regards to Mac, its those two." He warned and waving at her looped down the hallway to his own lecture hall.

* * *

Mac giggled as she listened to what Dick had to say. "I want to see it. Now."

"Oh the ways I could take that." He said with a smirk. "Anyhow, lets meet after your last class, we can lock ourselves in my room and watch it."

"Go then. I have to get this paper written." Mac said pushing him out of the library. Hearing someone sitting down across from her five minutes later, she looked up to see Logan. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She answered, saving what she had so far. She wasn't too worried she could write the assignment in her sleep.

"Why didn't he tell me about what happened?" He didn't have to elaborate but did. "With Lamb and what he pulled?"

"Logan, Dick was told he wouldn't graduate, that he had to retake physics the morning of the ceremony. He learned his brother was a murdered and a rapist and that he committed suicide by midnight. He was forced to identify his brother's body and was then interrogated by the police for hours. During that time he was told that his brother was repeatedly molested by a girl he dated once's father as a kid. He was mocked for crying about his brother's death. He went home to a trashed house because the police searched it."

"He turned the sofa back upright and fell asleep but woke up when he got a call from the ME that he had to get his brother's body and only had two days to do it in. Do you really think he understood what they were telling him. Then he was told a lawyer couldn't do it, that only a family member could. He had to take care of making decisions no eighteen year old should have had to make."

She watched Logan flinch at every word but didn't take them back. "Logan, he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't have the capacity to do so. He learned that he was partly responsible for his brother raping your girlfriend. I think that he felt you were the last person he could call."

"I would have been there for him." Logan replied.

"How?" Mac asked. Seeing him look at her, she tried to tell him. "Logan, Dick felt guilty, ashamed and angry with Cassidy but he also loved him. He has good memories of Cassidy but he feels guilty at remembering them. I should have thought to go check on him, but I was in my own little Beaver induced hell. We were all so busy wallowing by ourselves or with those we loved that we didn't remember that Dick didn't have family and that his friends were victims so he didn't feel he could turn to them."

Logan looked down at the table and Mac said "He came back to Neptune and I think that was a good thing. Yeah, he was a mess. I actually think that the thing that pulled him out of his funk was that you were there for him, that when Veronica and you were fighting this winter, he could be there for you. It helped."

"Mr. Mars was right, I am an ass." He said suddenly looking at Mac with new eyes. "You love him, don't you?"

Stiffening a bit, Mac said "I don't know. I still am not whole after everything. I think that when I am ready to love someone, yes, Dick is who I will be able to, but right now. There is too much confusion in my mind. I know that I want him and that we have this undeniably hot chemistry, that I trust him and that I am able to let down my guard around him."

Logan got it after all Veronica was one of the few people on this earth he had trusted with what had gone on with his dad. Debating keeping his mouth shut but trying to make up for his behavior the night before, he said "It sounds a lot like Veronica and me last summer."

"Maybe." Mac conceded. "Minus the angst of Duncan."

"No, even with the angst of an ex. Mac, Dick thinks that you are still in love with Beaver." He filled her in on what Dick had told him.

"Thanks Logan." Mac said then realizing the time, went to stand. "I have to get to Calculus."

"Dick is still thinking on moving out, he worries about you being affected by staying at the Grand." He admitted as he walked her down the hallway. "Also that I am going to deck him again if I hear the two of you together."

With a slight blush, Mac said "He likes to make me loud. I have to go, Logan. I will talk to you later."

In class, she saw Wallace was waiting and that he was holding an ice cold water bottle. "Thanks."

"Oh this isn't from me. It's from the girl that works at the student union. She said thanks for the entertainment and that she is available any time." He said wanting to know what was going on but before he could ask their professor entered the classroom and began to teach.

* * *

Mac was muttering as she hurried across the pier to join Logan. She had forgotten she had agreed to meet him at the beach that morning and now she was trying to find a polite way to get out of it.

"Hey." She was going to offer her excuse when she saw that he had something in his hands and was winding it around his finger repeatedly back and forth in a nervous gesture. "Thanks for coming."

Logan looked at her and said "I wasn't sure you would, I mean after we talked at the library today. I just hoped you would."

Once seated, Mac took out her sun hat, put it on her head and told him. "Logan, I am still your friend. Friends don't always agree but they are still there for one another."

"Dick suggested that we buy a house together this afternoon." He said without taking a breath.

"Dick has been a busy boy." Mac replied then looking at him said "Veronica and I are considering getting a place off campus next year together."

"Really?" He asked a bit surprised. "She didn't mention it to me."

"Logan, we came up with the idea two hours ago. I should have given her a chance to tell you." She said not wanting him now thinking Veronica didn't trust him anymore. "Anyhow, the reason I mentioned it, I might try to persuade Dick to do the same."

"Move in with Veronica and you?" He asked with a slight smile.

"No, I think that if I suggested that, Veronica would soon be the one determined to end us. You two getting an apartment in the same building." She said with a chuckle. "There are some nice lofts under renovation off Piedmont. We were looking at them online a while ago. I know it would be quite a come down after the Grand but we would have an excuse to spend time with each other."

"I assuming you are talking about Dick and you, Veronica and myself, because Mac, sorry I am a one woman man." He said facetiously trying to lessen the gap he felt between Mac and him since the truth had come out.

"Don't you mean you are a one man woman. Seriously, you are the woman, Logan." She joked looking at him and seeing his smirk, she said "Logan, I meant what I said. I wanted to kick your ass last night and if you ever hurt Dick like that again, I will make your inheritance disappear but I will still love you. In a strictly platonic way of course."

Logan rested his head on her shoulder and said "I told Dick and I guess I should confess to you but when I walked into that room and saw that condom and the ripped panties. It was as if he had seduced my raised by nuns virgin sister."

Mac couldn't help it, she laughed out loud. Looking at Logan she said "I thought he was kidding."

Shaking his head, he admitted "No, he wasn't. Mac, my family sucked, you know that. Then there is Charlie who wants nothing to do with me, with his father's name which I can understand. All I have is all of you. Even Weevil in a sort of odd twisted second cousin that you hate to see at family reunion sort of way."

"We aren't going anywhere. Not even Dick." She said. "You damaged things mainly because he is too emotional scarred to tell you when he is hurting. He hides it behind this facade. He told me about earlier this year when he was kicked out of the dorms. You and I are the two people he has let in. I don't intend to ever walk away."

"He doesn't know how to do this, Mac." He warned. "He will make mistakes."

"I know. As long as those mistakes don't involve sleeping with other women, we will weather them." She said looking at Logan who seemed surprised. "I am not looking for perfect, Logan. Just trust."

Standing, she said "And speaking of Dick, I sort of made two dates for the same time. I postponed the one with him and due to my roommate and her boy toy having plans, I am going to go join Dick in my dorm."

With that, she patted Logan on the shoulder and rushed off to Hearst. Stopping to pick up an vegan pizza and a meat lovers, she arrived to see Dick standing there with a large box, a couple of shopping bags and looking impatient. Grabbing the bag filled with beer and soda, she entered the dorm room and hung a towel on the door knob.

Mac looked at the box that said flat screen TV and then at him. Then back down at the box. "Dick why did you bring a TV."

"I intend to watch this in high definition." He said then asked her to hook it up to her desk top computer. Mac shrugged, did as he asked and then saw him unpacking their supplies.

"Dick, I have a bed right there." She said pointing to the forlorn single bed she slept in by herself most nights even as he cleared the space in front of her computer desk of everything but the double air bed.

"This, this is air bed and these are sleeping blankets." He said blowing up the bed with a small hand held compressor and then putting the blankets on top of them before pulling out pillows from yet another one of his bags.

Mac was handed the two SD cards and asked "Why are there two?"

With a wicked smirk he said "Besides the stuff that your cameras sent to my computer, I talked to some of the guys, this is their suspicions about who and Chips rant against Lillith House. Mars was there so she asked questions I didn't even think of."

Mac thought about it then said "I can load both videos and we can move between them."

Dick chuckled, popped open a beer and handed one to Mac before taking one for himself as they moved the pizza boxes closer. "Did you lock the door?"

"Yes." She said and soon was seated with Dick wrapped around her with the wireless mouse in her hands and one of her text books to act as a mouse pad. Starting the movie, watching as the Pi Sigma house went from darkness and a bit of hand relief which Mac fast forwarded through, listening to Dick was one thing, watching his frat brothers was another) to awake and confused. It moved through stunned and confused straight to volatile and confused in less than sixty minutes, but two hours later, Mac and Dick were laughing so hard that they had moved the pizzas out of the way.

"Was I that nuts?" He was asking as he watched Chip on screen losing it. "Seriously was I?"

"No." Mac said with a loyal smile his way that ended with a kiss. "I can't believe I let you blackmail into helping you get revenge for them kicking you out of a party you didn't even want to be at."

"They thought it was so funny when I was the one getting them." He admitted. "I would say that they don't think it is so funny anymore."

Mac stopped the video and bending forward to get her wireless keyboard, she felt Dick's lips pressing against her butt cheek, she turned to look at him saw his innocent facade. "Behave."

Soon resting against his chest, her legs propped up by his on either side, she rested her head against his and went to start the second video. "I still can't believe you talked them into telling you how they found the bananas."

"What is more fun is that they were all panicked at the idea of Veronica learning their secrets. Chip is so sure that it is Nish because if it isn't, then his secret ends up public." Dick replied.

Dick leaned down and kissed Mac then said "The best part is that some of them aren't even on the interview tape. They were so scared of the bananas once they got the rest of the messages."

Mac went back to the first SD card and pulled up the morning of Drew, he was one of the few who hadn't wanked off that morning in bed but he was also the first to find a banana.

Dick chuckled as they watched Andrew go from bad mood to scared.

__

Waking up, Andrew wasn't in a good mood. He was meeting with Chip about wanting to be the next class President but he had made it pretty clear that he was backing someone else until he had gave Chip a copy of his evidence. 

_He had smugly destroyed the tape until Drew had told him he had several spare copies. When Chip had threatened to hire Mars, Drew had sneered "Not gonna happen, Chip. Something tells me that Veronica would be on my side."_

_Chip had agreed to back him, but Drew knew that the blond was not happy about it. He had been furious and vowing to get rid of the tape of his indiscretion. With a smirk, he went to shower and was back in his room wearing only a towel. Reaching for his cell phone, planning on double checking to make sure that the evidence of Chips little foray into things he shouldn't be exploring was still on his phone._

_Seeing the banana, he lifted it and said out loud "What the heck?"_

_Shrugging, he tossed the banana down and went to fix his hair when he saw writing on it. Shaking his head, sure that it was his imagination, he lifted the banana. _

"_The end is coming. Secrets will be revealed." Looking around his dorm room, he looked to make sure the door was shut then quickly dropped to his knees and went to check his back up evidence certain this was Chips game. _

"_Does he really think I am going to buy this. I am not Casablancas."_

_Standing he tossed the banana in the trash and sat down on his bed getting dressed "I wonder who helped Chip do this?"_

Mac shook her head then went to the next person on the interview tape. Finding Rick sitting on the stairs rocking back and forth had her worried until she heard him talking.

Gleefully, she went to the cameras and found what she was looking for. Fast forwarding through the tape to just past Rich getting himself off, she said "He isn't as big as you."

"Thanks, babe." Dick said with a happy smile as he kissed her.

Mac laughed and watched as Rich didn't even bother showering, he just wiped his hands on his dirty shirt and pulled clean clothes from his dresser. "Uh, disgusting."

When Rich reached for his Pi Sigma sweatshirt, a banana fell on the ground. They watched as the blond picked it up and read out loud. "The end is near. Secrets will be revealed."

Mac gagged when he just shrugged and peeled the banana eating it. "Guys are so gross."

"Wait, why was he freaking out so bad later on?" Mac asked as she went to the next camera.

"This should be good, its Tripp, he was a shoo in for the Presidency until Drew got Chip to change his mind." Dick said as they watched the junior get up, go shower and return brushing his teeth as he walked down the hallway naked.

Dick covered Mac's eyes when he came into view without a single stitch of clothing on. "Dick, I can't see what is going on!"

"When he gets some clothes on." He stated sounding jealous at her wanting to watch.

"Hey, half the campus has seen your naked butt." She pointed out and could only shake her head when he still wouldn't remove his hand. Finally he did and she only had time to see Tripp wearing boxers as he found the banana. "The end is near. Secrets will be revealed."

"What secrets are you hiding Dick?" The dark haired guy said then tossed the banana in the trash. "Wait, Dick doesn't live here."

"Aw, these guys are no fun." Mac said pouting a bit.

Marvin and the very bald Gordon Peters had very similar reactions. Though Gordon smirked after reading the banana, he just tossed it into the trash.

Mac was a bit disappointed with Charleston's reaction, he chuckled and said "Damn, this should be fun."

The next tape showed a student named Rhett still in bed in spite of the morning sun shining into his room. "Wait, is his last name Butler?"

"No." Dick asked wondering why Mac rolled her eyes at the French kid's name. "Why?"

"Rhett, who names their kid Rhett."

"Mr. and Mr_s. _Joulet I would guess." Dick said shrugging then they came to the piece de resistance as Chip's bedroom was shown. Hearing Dick's lustful sigh, Mac looked at her boyfriend and said "Would you like to be left alone with the video. I mean it's no Ghost World but-."

"Wait, Mars told you?" He accused pissed that Veronica had told Mac his secret.

"She sure did." Mac replied and turning so that she was in his arms and straddling his legs. "We are going to be having a talk about that later but first why are you lusting after Chip?"

"His room, not the idiot in it." He replied as they watched Chip's morning routine that included wanking and showering before he spent almost ten minutes in front of the mirror trying to fix his hair. "Seriously, no dude should be like that."

"Two words for you." Mac said holding up two fingers. "Logan Echolls."

"He isn't that bad." Dick said as loyally as he could with a black eye and bruised jaw from the man.

"Frosted tips, Dick. He had his tips frosted. Trust me, Chip Diller ha_s _nothing, I mean nothing on Logan." She pointed out with a giggle.

They saw Chips eyes narrow when he saw the banana then mutter something about Dick before leaving the room.

Things were still fairly calm on the living room camera then it happened. Jack came out of the kitchen and looked at the slightly hung over frat boys and said "Why is there an S on the apples?"

"An ess?" Chip asked and Jack tossed an apple at the senior.

"An ess, you know like a superman ess." Jack said.

Tripp was standing next to Charleston and they saw Chip didn't get it either but when Charleston saw the apple he said "It's not an ess it's a five. See, the top is straight."

"Okay so why is there a five on all of the apples?" He said.

Chip didn't care, he had more important things to worry about than a five on the apples or words written on the bananas. Pranks were all a part of being in fraternity.

Getting ready to leave, he heard his name being called and counting out loud turned to Steven who asked if he knew what was going on. "No, but it is just a prank, it doesn't mean anything."

"Don't be so sure of that." Rick said coming down the stairs and sitting down on them. He was feeling uneasy about the messages, it had been a Tuesday night and to his recall there had been no one out of the norm in the frat house, so how had anyone managed to plant talking bananas in the frat house.

"Oh please, will all of you stop overreacting." Chip snapped.

"Uh, Chip..."

Turning to the moron coming out of the kitchen eating a slice of burnt bacon and looking confused, Chip asked "What, Chanter? Let me guess the bacon said oink?"

"No but the pears said "Justice will be served."

Mac and Dick watched as his frat brothers seemed to be a bit uneasy, then began to mutter amongst themselves. There were several mentions of calling Dick to ask if he knew what was going on.

Rumblings of trying to recall who was in the frat house the day before and then several of them were trying to asked the only science major among them, Rhett how long it would take for the words to appear on the fruit."

His answer had Dick shaking his head and asking "Are you smarter than a second grader? Nope I guess not. Maybe we should send Ryan over to explain how heat speed up the words."

"Hush." Mac said watching as the frat brothers began to think who would have it out for them. Names were thrown around, including Veronica's, Nish's and even several girls who had apparently slept with several different Pi Sigmas.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep with any of those girls?" Mac asked and seeing his face said "Okay, please tell me you have been tested recently?"

Burying his head in the crock of her neck he said "Logan insisted we go around Valentines Day then again at the beginning of the month. Remember there was that big push to be tested on campus."

"Not as many as you are thinking, I swear." He said. Seeing her eyes on him, he said "Three girls in that time frame. Two were girls we met in Mexico on spring break. One here for the sex quest."

"We need to be tested." Mac said a bit thrown by the idea.

"Mac, I am careful. I learned my lesson when I found out that a girl I slept with in high school was hoping I would get her pregnant. I always, always wrap up." He swore. He saw that Mac was still uneasy so he said "If it will make you feel better, I will go and get tested."

"We both should." She said. Seeing his surprise, she said "It's not like Bronson was a virgin."

Dick said "Oh, pay attention. It's just getting good."

Mac looked back at the tape as the frat brothers began arguing amongst themselves about who had done what. Hearing several shouts for Chip to call Veronica, she saw that the short blond was ignoring the suggestion.

Finally they saw several of the brothers gathering money and handed it to Chip telling him to either call Mars or give someone her number.

When Chip muttered something about not having Veronica's number himself, that the hot geek wouldn't give it to him, Dick glowered at the description of Mac but was more amused when Charleston said "I have Veronica's number."

Chip made the call and Mac saw him glaring at the phone after Veronica' rather snippy answer to his order earlier that day. Still the part that made her day was the late rising frat brother coming down the stairs with half his face shaved. "Uh, dudes, does anyone know why there was a banana in my room that says 'Eat more peaches, you need the practice?"

* * *

Veronica was a bit unsettled as Logan and she joined her father for dinner. Halfway through her manicotti, she pushed it away and said "I'm full."

"Veronica, are you feeling okay?" Keith reached over and tried to take her temperature.

"It's nothing." She said then looking at Logan admitted "Something is up with Dick and I am not talking about with Mac."

"What do you mean?" Keith asked.

"The frat house had a banana outbreak." She replied. "I sort of expected to be asked to investigate but it was like he didn't want me to."

"Have you asked him what is going on?" Logan thought out loud. "Maybe he is worried about it connecting to the bananas he received and that it might harm Mac and himself."

"No, it was more like he was gleeful when his frat brothers were telling him what was going on." She replied with a slight frown. "It just seemed off somehow."

Keith Mars covered his lips, sure that he was smiling as he watched his daughter and her boyfriend try to figure out what was going on. Deciding to give himself some more entertainment, he asked "Have you considered Dick planted the bananas, himself?"

"I think he was a bit busy last night." Veronica replied. "No, I don't know who did this, but it wasn't Dick."

Keith didn't say another word about it, other than to ask the waitress to box up his daughter's dinner and then when they were on their way out the door, he called Logan back. "How are you doing?"

"Better, thanks." He admitted. "I just find it hard to get past the image of Mac from last summer. I know that Dick has real feelings for her, but at the same time, I know that he has never had a real relationship. Madison Sinclair not withstanding."

"I think that this will be good for them both. Dick needs Mac's stability, her common sense will help him and she needs his tactile ways of being."

Seeing Logan didn't get it, Keith said. "Dick touches people, I have watched him. He tactile, its part of who he is. It's part of being a neglected child. They need that touching of things. Mac needs to be touched but doesn't reach out. Give them some time to settle down emotionally and then watch. Trust me, I have seen other couples like that and it usually is a great relationship."

"It's that touching that worries me." Logan admitted.

"Right now, you have to let him grow. He will figure out personal boundaries with others. Once that happens, once he begins to realize that Mac is all he needs, he will be less likely to touch other people, especially women. My guess is that he has already begun to pull back." Keith said then watching as his daughter and her boyfriend left.

His phone rang and he saw that it was Harmony. He considered answering but instead sent it to voice mail. Veronica was right, getting involved with a married woman was not a smart thing to do.

* * *

Late that night, the frat brother put on guard at Dick's suggestion, yawned and went to pour himself another cup of coffee. In the kitchen, he drained the pot and put it in the sink before reaching for an apple.

Blinking a bit, Tripp yawned again then wiped his eyes. Checking it over, making sure that there was nothing written on it, he took a bite and went back to the living room.

At dawn, he wrote a note and taped it to the front door and went up to his room and collapsed on his bed falling asleep grateful that his first class wasn't until two that afternoon.

An hour later there was a blood curdling scream and the sound of pounding footsteps. His door was shoved open and Tripp looked up to see Marvin standing there holding out a piece of fruit. "What?"

"Are you sure, are you absolutely sure that no one came into the frat house?" He demanded in a shaky tone of voice.

"Yeah, I spent the entire damn night staring at the front door, no one came through it. Why?" He asked and was soon showed the apple had the roman numeral four on it. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Out in the hallway there was grumbling as various brothers came out of their rooms, carrying a few bananas. Chip was scowling as he looked at Tripp who was now standing in the doorway. "Why do I have a banana that says for me to stop playing with myself?"

"Me too." Several of the frat brothers called out that they also had received that message. One of them, Rick looked at the others and said "Mine told me to wash my hands after I am done."

There was a bit of snickering over that then Chip frozen and looked at Rick. "When did you...?"

Rick turned white then said "Yesterday morning and I didn't wash my hands since I was heading to the...shower. Someone was in my room."

"Well, guess that explains mine." Charleston said going back to his room. Returning with a banana, he showed it to the others with a shrug. "It says we are watching."

Charleston leaned against the wall shaking his head in amusement as his frat brothers all began to search their rooms in a paranoid attempt to locate the device. Taking out his cell phone, he hit speed dial six and said "Hey Casablancas, you might want to get over to the frat house, the Banana bandit struck again and you won't believe what they said this time."

TBC


End file.
